James S. Sherman

Infobox_Vice_President | name=James S. Sherman
nationality=American


order=27th Vice President of the United States
term_start=March 4, 1909
term_end=October 30, 1912
predecessor=Charles W. Fairbanks
successor=Thomas R. Marshall
order2=Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 23rd district
term_start2=March 4, 1887
term_end2=March 3, 1891
preceded2=John T. Spriggs
succeeded2=Henry W. Bentley
order3=Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 25th district
term_start3=March 4, 1893
term_end3=March 3, 1903
preceded3=James J. Belden
succeeded3=Lucius N. Littauer
order4=Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 27th district
term_start4=March 4, 1903
term_end4=March 3, 1909
preceded4=Michael E. Driscoll
succeeded4=Charles S. Millington
order5=Mayor of Utica, New York
term5=1894
birth_date=birth date|mf=yes|1855|10|24
birth_place=Utica, New York
death_date=death date and age|mf=yes|1912|10|30|1855|10|24
death_place=Utica, New York
spouse=Carrie Babcock Sherman
alma_mater=Hamilton College
party=Republican
president=William Howard Taft

James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was a United States Representative from New York and the twenty-seventh Vice President of the United States. He was a member of the Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family.

Early life

Sherman was born in Utica, New York. The son of Richard Updike Sherman and his distant cousin Mary Frances Sherman, he gained his early education through private schools. Graduating from Hamilton College in 1878, he studied law for two years, then was admitted to the bar in 1880. He was a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity.

Law and business

Nicknamed "Sunny Jim" for his positive disposition, Sherman practiced law at the Utica firm of Cookingham & Martin and was married to Carrie Babcock in 1881. He also served as president of the Utica Trust & Deposit Co. and of the New Hartford Canning Co. during this period before becoming mayor of Utica in 1884.

Representative

Elected to Congress in 1886 as a Republican representative of New York, Sherman served four years before losing his seat following the 1890 election to Henry W. Bentley. Sherman would return two years later to win the first of eight consecutive elections for the seat, helping to establish his presence in the nation's capital.

In 1898, he briefly became a candidate for Speaker of the House, before being offered the office of General Appraiser of the Port of New York one year later by U.S. President William McKinley. Sherman declined the position after vocal opposition from his Utica constituents.

Vice President

At the time of his 1908 nomination as the Republican candidate for Vice President on the ticket with William Howard Taft, Sherman was Chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs. During the ensuing campaign, Sherman endured a blistering attack from Los Angeles attorney Edmund Burke, who had claimed he was a former partner of his in the New Mexico Lumber and Development Company. Burke alleged that Sherman had used his influential position to further a land grab deal, but his accusations would not prove to be damaging in the election.

1912 election and illness

Sherman had also been diagnosed with gallstones during this period, and was told that kidney trouble was causing his problems. By following a strict diet, he was able to manage his lingering condition after taking office on March 4, 1909. However, his strong work ethic played a major role in the deterioration of his health over the course of the 1912 presidential campaign.

In June 1912, Sherman became the first incumbent Vice President to be renominated by a National Convention. The ensuing campaign saw Taft in a stiff three-way battle with Democrat Woodrow Wilson and former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the latter candidate having previously been in a nasty feud with Sherman over control of the New York Republican party.

Death

Sherman died in Utica, Oneida County, New York a few days prior to the election. The Republican National Committee provided that electoral votes Sherman would have received would go to Columbia University President Nicholas M. Butler. However, Democrats Woodrow Wilson and Thomas R. Marshall won in an electoral vote landslide long before this. James S. Sherman was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.

ee also

* United States presidential election, 1908
* United States presidential election, 1912

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2716 James S. Sherman] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.footnote.com/image/4346755 16th Amendment to the Constitution with Sherman's Signature] Image of original document
* [http://www.footnote.com/image/4346715 17th Amendment to the Constitution with Sherman's Signature] Image of original document

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republican Party vice presidential candidate
before=Charles W. Fairbanks
after=Nicholas M. Butler⁽¹⁾
years=1908 (won), 1912 (died)
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