Shinn was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, serving in office from March 4, 1833-March 3, 1837.
After retiring from Congress, he resumed farming, and served as president of the Burlington Agricultural Association in 1853 and 1854. He also was elected a director of The Camden & Amboy Railroad.
Shinn died in Mount Holly, New Jersey on August 18, 1871, and was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery.