Lawrence Yates Sherman (November 8, 1858 – September 15, 1939) was a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician from the State of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. He served as
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
, the
28th Lieutenant Governor, and as
Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is seventh (behind the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, and President of the Senate, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Go ...
.
Sherman is best known for his role in preventing the ratification of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, which kept the United States out of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
.
Personal life
Sherman was born on November 8, 1858
near
Piqua in
Miami County, Ohio
Miami County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,774. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the Miami people.
Miami County is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Sta ...
, the son of Nelson Sherman and Maria (Yates) Sherman.
A year later, he moved with his parents to
McDonough County, Illinois
McDonough County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 32,612. Its county seat is Macomb.
The Macomb, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of McDonough County.
History
McDo ...
and eight years later, they moved to
Grove Township in
Jasper County, Illinois
Jasper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 9,698. Its county seat is Newton.
History
Jasper County was formed in 1831 out of Clay and Crawford Counties. It was named ...
.
He attended the
common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...
s and Lee's Academy in
Coles County
Coles County is a county in Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,863. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University.
Coles County is part of the Charleston- Mattoon, IL Micropolitan St ...
, and in 1882 earned an
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree from
McKendree University
McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...
in
Lebanon, Illinois
Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,418 at the 2010 census and had decreased to an estimated 4,256 as of 2018. Like many other places in " Little Egypt" or Southern Illinois, Lebanon was named afte ...
.
He studied law under Judge
Henry Horner
Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois. ...
and Professor Samuel H. Deneen and was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in Illinois in 1882.
In 1891, he married Ella M. Crews, who died in 1893. On March 4, 1908, he married Estelle Spitler, who died in 1910.
Early politics
After passing the bar, Sherman involved himself in Illinois politics. He was
city attorney
A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality.
Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...
for
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in ...
from 1885 to 1887 and a
McDonough County judge from 1886 to 1890. In 1890, he entered into the private
practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...
in Macomb.
Sherman served 4 terms in the
Illinois House of Representatives from 1897 to 1905. During his second term in 1899 he was chosen as the 40th
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
, and in 1901 he became the second Republican to serve two terms in that office, 5th overall. While Speaker, Sherman played an important role in the creation of Western Illinois State Normal School (now
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.
History
Western Illin ...
) and was instrumental in the selection of Macomb for its location.
Sherman Hall, the main administrative building at Western Illinois University, was renamed after Senator Sherman in 1957.
In 1904, he ran an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Illinois,
but was nominated for the
Lieutenant Governor in
that year's election for that office. He became the
28th
28 (twenty-eight) is the natural number following 27 and preceding 29.
In mathematics
It is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14.
Twenty-eight is the second perfect number - it is the sum of its proper diviso ...
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, serving from 1905 to 1909. As lieutenant governor he was ''
ex officio'' president of the
Illinois Senate.
In 1909, he ran for Mayor of
Springfield, Illinois, but lost by 300 votes. He served as president of the Illinois state board of administration, public charities, 1909-1913 before returning to the practice of law in Springfield.
As a delegate to the
1912 Republican National Convention
The 1912 Republican National Convention was held at the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, from June 18 to June 22, 1912. The party nominated President William H. Taft and Vice President James S. Sherman for re-election for the 1912 Unit ...
, Sherman supported
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, but then worked to prevent the party split that resulted in the
Bull Moose party
The Progressive Party was a third party in the United States formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the presidential nomination of the Republican Party to his former protégé rival, incumbent president William ...
. After the split, he supported the party nominee,
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, for president.
Senate Elections
In 1912, Sherman entered the Republican "advisory" primary for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent five-term Republican Senator
Shelby M. Cullom
Shelby Moore Cullom (November 22, 1829 – January 28, 1914) was a U.S. political figure, serving in various offices, including the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois.
Life and ca ...
. Cullom had suffered politically over his support for the other Illinois senator,
William Lorimer, who was embroiled in a scandal over alleged bribery in his 1909 election to the Senate. On April 9, Sherman defeated Cullom by 60,000 votes and Cullom withdrew his name from consideration by the General Assembly.
![LawrenceSherman1912](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/LawrenceSherman1912.PNG)
Three months after the primary, the United States Senate invalidated the election of Lorimer and declared the seat vacant. The
Illinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorne ...
,
William H. Stead determined that the General Assembly had failed to properly elect Lorimer in 1909 and so the Governor could not appoint a replacement. As a result, the General Assembly had two Senate seats to fill.
In the November 1912 election, the Republicans lost control of the state due to the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
/
Progressive split. But while the Democrats held a plurality of the General Assembly, they did not have a majority. The General Assembly took up the matter of electing the senators on February 1. On March 26, in a compromise arranged by governor
Dunne
Dunne is an Irish surname, derived from the Irish ''Ó Duinn'' and ''Ó Doinn'', meaning "dark" or "brown."
The name Dunne in Ireland is derived from the Ó Duinn and the Ó Doinn Gaelic septs who were based in County Laois, County Meath and Coun ...
, the General Assembly elected Democrat
J. Hamilton Lewis to fill the Cullom seat and chose Sherman to fill the two remaining years of Lorimer's term.
In 1914, he was elected to a full term, this time by the people of Illinois due to the passage of the
Seventeenth Amendment, which he had supported prior to being elected to the Senate.
In 1916, Sherman made the decision to retire from politics not to run for reelection in 1920, due to his failing hearing, which prevented him from hearing what was said on the Senate floor.
Senate Years
He served as chairman of the
Committee on the District of Columbia during the
Sixty-sixth Congress.
Treaty of Versailles
![Treaty of Versailles, English version](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Treaty_of_Versailles%2C_English_version.jpg)
As one of the group of senators known as the "
irreconcilables" or the "bitter-enders", Sherman opposed the ratification of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
and of U.S. involvement in the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, and according to Historian Aaron Chandler, played a key role in its defeat. He characterized the treaty as "humanitarian in purpose, but impracticable in operation", and believed the league would be weak.
Sherman was a nationalist, but not an isolationist. He maintained that the country's interests would be served by maintaining close relations with England and France, and was willing to accept limited obligations to America's wartime allies. He opposed any league that would limit America's sovereignty, and believed that membership in a league of nations with divergent interests would weaken the United States in foreign affairs, by giving equal votes to small, weak countries, and allowing them to join together and dictate foreign policy to the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy.
Sherman was concerned with America's influence in the League. He criticized the provisions of Article 7 that would give to the British Empire, counting its colonies, six votes, while the United States would have only one. He said that "Great Britain with her diplomatic influence in the Old World much superior to ours could easily secure a majority of the nations to outvote us any time she wished." He argued that the large number of predominately Catholic nations in the League were dominated by the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, which would leave the United States beholden to the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in foreign affairs. He was convinced that membership in the league would result in the United States paying most of the cost for reconstructing Europe after the war, arguing that the assessments would be based on ability to pay and that "we would therefore become a perpetual taxpayer for the benefit of Europe."
Sherman opposed some of the non-league provisions of the treaty. He sharply criticized the
Shantung provision of the treaty which transferred German concessions in Shantung to Japan rather than return them to China, saying "40,000,000 Chinese in Shantung were denied the right of self-determination and delivered to Japan under treaty" In addition, he criticized the territorial concessions to Poland as insufficient.
He was one of the 39 senators who joined the "
Round-robin" resolution in March 1919, declaring that the peace treaty with Germany should be separated from any proposal for a League of Nations, and vowing to vote against the treaty in its current form.
During a vote on amendments to the treaty, after Woodrow Wilson had stated that he would not accept any amendments, Sherman said:
When the treaty was voted on by the full Senate with
reservations attached, Sherman voted against the Treaty, as did President Wilson's supporters at his urging. After its defeat, Sherman delivered an address he called "a funeral oration over the defunct remains" of the treaty, and said it was one of the few times that he found himself in agreement with Wilson.
Post-Senate
![Sherman Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Sherman_Hall.jpg)
After leaving the Senate, Sherman resumed the practice of law again in Springfield. In 1924 Sherman moved to
Daytona Beach, Florida, and continued the practice of law there, also engaging in the investment business. He helped organize the First National Bank of Daytona Beach and served as its president in 1925 and was chairman of its board of directors from 1925 to 1927. Beginning in 1930, when it merged with the Atlantic National Bank of Jacksonville, he was a director at that bank until he retired.
Sherman retired from all active business pursuits in 1933. He died in Daytona Beach, Florida, on September 15, 1939, and was interred at Faunce Cemetery in
Montrose, Illinois
Montrose is a village in Effingham and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 210 at the 2020 census. The Effingham County portion of Montrose is part of the Effingham Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the smal ...
.
Notes
References
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Further reading
* Stone, Ralph A. "Two Illinois Senators Among the Irreconcilables." Mississippi Valley Historical, Review 50 (December 1963): 443-65.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Lawrence
1858 births
1939 deaths
Burials in Illinois
Illinois state court judges
Lieutenant Governors of Illinois
McKendree University alumni
People from Daytona Beach, Florida
People from Miami County, Ohio
Republican Party United States senators from Illinois
Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives
Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Candidates in the 1916 United States presidential election
20th-century American politicians
Florida Republicans