The voters returned Sherman to office for a third term in 1858.
After a brief special session in March 1859, the 36th Congress adjourned, and Sherman and his wife went on vacation to Europe.
When they returned that December, the situation was similar to that of four years earlier: no party had an absolute majority.
Republicans held 109 seats, Democrats 101, and the combination of Oppositionists and Know Nothings 27.
Again, sectional tension had increased while Congress was in recess, this time due to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
The election for Speaker of the House promised to be contentious.
This time, Sherman was among the leading candidates, receiving the second-largest number of votes on the first ballot, with no candidate receiving a majority.
The election for Speaker was sidetracked immediately by a furor over an anti-slavery book, The Impending Crisis of the South, written by Hinton Rowan Helper and endorsed by many Republican members.
Southerners accused Sherman of having endorsed the book, while he protested that he only endorsed its use as a campaign tool and had never read it.
After two months of balloting, no decision had been reached.
After their attempts to adopt a plurality rule failed, Sherman accepted that he could not be elected, and withdrew.
Republicans then shifted their support to William Pennington, who was elected on the forty-fourth ballot.

Pennington assigned Sherman to serve as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, where he spent much of his time on appropriations bills, while cooperating with his colleague Justin Smith Morrill on the passage of what became known as the Morrill Tariff.
The Morrill Tariff raised duties on imports to close the deficit that had resulted from falling revenues.
It also had the effect of encouraging domestic industries, which appealed to the former Whigs in the Republican party.
Sherman spoke in favor of the bill, and it passed the House by a vote of 105 to 64.
The tariff bill would likely have died in the Senate, but the withdrawal of Southern members at the start of the Civil War allowed the rump Senate to pass the bill in the 36th Congress final session, and President Buchanan signed it into law in February 1861.
Likewise, Sherman supported a bill admitting Kansas as a free state that passed in 1861.

Sherman was renominated for Congress in 1860 and was active in Abraham Lincoln's campaign for President, giving speeches on his behalf in several states.
Both were elected, with Sherman defeating his opponent, Barnabas Burns, by 2,864 votes.
He returned to Washington for the lame duck session of the 36th Congress.
By February 1861, seven states had reacted to Lincoln's election by seceding from the Union.
In response, Congress passed a constitutional amendment proposed by Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio.
Known today as the Corwin Amendment, it was an attempt to forge a compromise to keep the remaining slave states in the Union and entice the seceded states to return.
Corwin's legislation would have preserved the status quo on slavery and prohibited any future amendment granting Congress power to interfere with slavery in the states.
Sherman voted for the amendment, which passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states for ratification.
Few states ratified it, and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, outlawing slavery, rendered the compromise measure moot.
The voters returned Sherman to office for a third term in 1858. After a brief special session in March 1859, the 36th Congress adjourned, and Sherman and his wife went on vacation to Europe. When they returned that December, the situation was similar to that of four years earlier: no party had an absolute majority. Republicans held 109 seats, Democrats 101, and the combination of Oppositionists and Know Nothings 27. Again, sectional tension had increased while Congress was in recess, this time due to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The election for Speaker of the House promised to be contentious. This time, Sherman was among the leading candidates, receiving the second-largest number of votes on the first ballot, with no candidate receiving a majority. The election for Speaker was sidetracked immediately by a furor over an anti-slavery book, The Impending Crisis of the South, written by Hinton Rowan Helper and endorsed by many Republican members. Southerners accused Sherman of having endorsed the book, while he protested that he only endorsed its use as a campaign tool and had never read it. After two months of balloting, no decision had been reached. After their attempts to adopt a plurality rule failed, Sherman accepted that he could not be elected, and withdrew. Republicans then shifted their support to William Pennington, who was elected on the forty-fourth ballot.
Pennington assigned Sherman to serve as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, where he spent much of his time on appropriations bills, while cooperating with his colleague Justin Smith Morrill on the passage of what became known as the Morrill Tariff. The Morrill Tariff raised duties on imports to close the deficit that had resulted from falling revenues. It also had the effect of encouraging domestic industries, which appealed to the former Whigs in the Republican party. Sherman spoke in favor of the bill, and it passed the House by a vote of 105 to 64. The tariff bill would likely have died in the Senate, but the withdrawal of Southern members at the start of the Civil War allowed the rump Senate to pass the bill in the 36th Congress final session, and President Buchanan signed it into law in February 1861. Likewise, Sherman supported a bill admitting Kansas as a free state that passed in 1861.
Sherman was renominated for Congress in 1860 and was active in Abraham Lincoln's campaign for President, giving speeches on his behalf in several states. Both were elected, with Sherman defeating his opponent, Barnabas Burns, by 2,864 votes. He returned to Washington for the lame duck session of the 36th Congress. By February 1861, seven states had reacted to Lincoln's election by seceding from the Union. In response, Congress passed a constitutional amendment proposed by Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio. Known today as the Corwin Amendment, it was an attempt to forge a compromise to keep the remaining slave states in the Union and entice the seceded states to return. Corwin's legislation would have preserved the status quo on slavery and prohibited any future amendment granting Congress power to interfere with slavery in the states. Sherman voted for the amendment, which passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states for ratification. Few states ratified it, and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, outlawing slavery, rendered the compromise measure moot.
John Sherman