John Sparkman

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John Sparkman

John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899–November 16, 1985) was an American politician from the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
. A conservative

Conservative Democrat

In Politics of the United States, a conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with American conservatism political views, or with views relatively conservative with respect to those of the national party....
Southern Democrat

Southern Democrats

Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the American South. In the early 1800s, they were the definitive pro-slavery wing of the party, opposed to both the anti-slavery Republican Party and the more liberal Northern Democrats....
, Sparkman served in the U.S. House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
and the U.S. Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
from 1937 until 1979. He was the Democratic Party's

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
nominee for Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office in the United States of America created by the Constitution of the United States....
as Adlai Stevenson's

Adlai Stevenson

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II was an United States, noted for his intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory, and promotion of liberal causes in the History of the United States Democrat Party....
running mate

Running mate

A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were running mates in 1988"....
in the 1952 U.S. presidential election

United States presidential election, 1952

The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly....
. Sparkman High School in Harvest, Alabama is named in his honor.

kman was born on a farm near Hartselle, Alabama

Hartselle, Alabama

Hartselle is the second largest city in Morgan County, Alabama, Alabama, United States, about 10 miles south of Decatur, Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area....
. He attended the rural schools and helped on the family farm

Family farm

A family farm is a farm owned and operated by a family, and passed down from generation to generation. It is the basic unit of the mostly agricultural Economic system of much of human history and continues to be so in Developing country....
.

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Encyclopedia

John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899–November 16, 1985) was an American politician from the state

U.S. state

Alabama

Conservative Democrat

Southern Democrats

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Democratic Party (United States)

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office in the United States of America created by the Constitution of the United States....
as Adlai Stevenson's

Adlai Stevenson

Running mate

United States presidential election, 1952

Early life and education

Sparkman was born on a farm near Hartselle, Alabama

Hartselle, Alabama

Family farm

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, he was a member of the Students Army Training Corps. He graduated from the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
at Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and the fifth-largest city in Alabama with a population of 83,052 ....
in 1921 and from University of Alabama School of Law

University of Alabama School of Law

The University of Alabama School of Law is a law school located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama. University of Alabama School of Law is one of five law schools in the state, one of three that is American Bar Association accredited, and of the accredited schools, it is the only public law school in Alabama....
in 1923. Sparkman was a member of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is an international, secret, social, Greek alphabet, college fraternities and sororities. It was founded at 47 West The Range at the University of Virginia in the United States on Sunday evening, March 1 1868....
.

Legal career

John Sparkman was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is permission granted by a particular court system to a Attorney at Law to practice of law in that system....
in 1925 and commenced practice in Huntsville

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Alabama and Limestone County, Alabama Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Madison County....
. He was an instructor at Huntsville College from 1925 to 1928. A Freemason

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal and service organizations that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million ....
, he was life member of Helion Lodge #1 in Huntsville. He was also member of the Huntsville Scottish Rite

Scottish Rite

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry....
bodies and a recipient of the Knight Commander Court of Honor (KCCH).

Political career

Sparkman was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1936 election. He was reelected in 1938, 1940, 1942, and 1944, serving in the 75th

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, 76th

76th United States Congress

The Seventy-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, 77th

77th United States Congress

Dates of SessionsTwo sessions, roughly paralleling the calendar years 1941 and 1942:*First Session: January 3, 1941 to January 2, 1942*Second Session: January 5, 1942 to December 16, 1942....
, 78th

78th United States Congress

The Seventy-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, and 79th Congresses

79th United States Congress

The Seventy-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
. In 1946 he served as House Majority Whip

Party whips of the United States House of Representatives

A Whip in the United States House of Representatives manages their party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon....
. He was reelected in the 1946 House election to the 80th Congress

80th United States Congress

The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
and on the same date was elected to the United States Senate in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John H. Bankhead II

John H. Bankhead II

John Hollis Bankhead, II was a United States Senate from the U.S. state of Alabama. Like his father, John H. Bankhead, he was elected three times to the Senate, and like his father, he died in office....
for the term ending January 3, 1949. Sparkman resigned from the House of Representatives immediately following the election and began his Senate term on November 6, 1946. He served until his retirement on January 3, 1979, after not running for reelection in 1978

United States Senate elections, 1978

The United States Senate election of 1978 in the middle of United States Democratic Party President of the United States Jimmy Carter's term. The Democrats lost a net of three seats to the United States Republican Party, leaving the balance of the chamber 58-41 in favor of the Democrats....
.

In the Senate he was chairman of the Select Committee on Small Business

United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises....
(81st

81st United States Congress

The Eighty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, 82nd

82nd United States Congress

The Eighty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, and 84th

84th United States Congress

The Eighty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
through 90th Congresses

90th United States Congress

The Ninetieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Inaugural Arrangements (86th Congress

86th United States Congress

The Eighty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
), chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency

United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes, currency and coinage, public and private hous...
(90th

90th United States Congress

91st United States Congress

The Ninety-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Defense Production (91st and 93rd Congresses

90th United States Congress

United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

92nd United States Congress

The Ninety-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
and 93rd Congresses), and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations (94th

94th United States Congress

The Ninety-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
and 95th Congress

95th United States Congress

The Ninety-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
).

The 1943 Sparkman Act, allowing women physicians to be commissioned as officers in the armed services, was named for him, after lobbying by Dr. Emily Dunning Barringer

Emily Barringer

Emily Dunning Barringer was the world's first female ambulance surgeon and the first woman to secure a surgical residency.Emily Dunning was born in Scarsdale, New York, New York to Edwin James Dunning and Frances Gore Lang....
.

Sparkman was a representative of the United States to the Fifth General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal United Nations System and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation....
of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
in 1950.

In 1956, John Sparkman was one of the 19 Southern senators to sign the Southern Manifesto

Southern Manifesto

The Southern Manifesto was a document written in February-March 1956 by legislators in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places....
, opposing the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
decision Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education

'Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka', Case citation , was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v....
and racial integration

Racial integration

Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race , and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely bringing a racial minority into the m...
.

Despite the fact that Stevenson again became the Democratic presidential nominee in 1956 he was not again his running mate.

He died in Huntsville, Alabama in 1985 of natural causes aged 85 and is interred in Maple Hill Cemetery of Huntsville.

Electoral history

1972 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) (inc.) 62.3%

Winton M. Blount

Winton Malcolm "Red" Blount, Jr. was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1972. He is also known as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of construction giant Blount International....
(R) 33.1%

1966 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) (inc.) 60.1%

John Grenier

John Edward Grenier was a Birmingham, Alabama Lawyer and a pioneer in the development of the modern Republican Party in the U.S. state of Alabama....
(R) 39%

1960 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) (inc.) 70.2%

Julian Elgin (R) 29.8%

1954 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) (inc.) 82.5%

J. Foy Guin, Jr. (R) 17.5%

1952 United States Presidential Election (Vice President's seat)

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
(R) 55.2%

John Sparkman (D) 44.3%

Charlotta Bass

Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass , was an United States educator, newspaper publisher-editor, and civil rights activist. Bass was probably the first African American woman to own and operate her own newspaper in the United States; she published the California Eagle from 1912 until 1951....
(Progressive) 0.2%

Enoch Holtwick (Prohibition) 0.1%

1948 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) (inc.) 84%

John G. Parsons (R) 16%

1946 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) Unopposed

External links

A history of Senator Sparkman's career in the House of Representatives was written in 1990 by Dr. Henry Walker.