Sen. John Sparkman
Former Senator for Alabama
![Photo of Sen. John Sparkman [D-AL, 1946-1978]](/static/legislator-photos/410172-200px.jpeg)
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Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Sparkman is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the Senate in 1978 positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills legislators sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 1973 to Oct 15, 1978. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Sparkman was the primary sponsor of 34 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 1826 (95th): A bill for the relief of Kainoosh-Fard Bullock and her son, Kami Bullock.
- S. 1006 (95th): A bill for the relief of Concrete Industries (Monier), Limited.
- S. 3075 (95th): International Security Assistance Act
- S. 2152 (95th): A bill to amend the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to authorize the United States to participate in the Supplementary Financing Monetary Fund.
- S. 1235 (95th): An Act to authorize appropriations for the Peace Corps for fiscal year 1978.
- S. 3621 (94th): A bill to amend the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 to provide for the determination of the validity and amounts of claims of nationals of the …
- S. 3380 (94th): A bill for the relief of Miss Mary Vance Trent.
Does 34 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Sparkman sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (29%) Economics and Public Finance (15%) Government Operations and Politics (14%) Foreign Trade and International Finance (11%) Finance and Financial Sector (10%) Private Legislation (10%) Housing and Community Development (7%) Armed Forces and National Security (4%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Sparkman recently introduced the following legislation:
- S.Res. 594 (95th): A resolution authorizing the giving of testimony in the cases of United …
- S. 3601 (95th): A Bill for the relief of Borislav Subotic.
- S.Res. 582 (95th): A Resolution expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to the …
- S.Res. 572 (95th): A resolution waiving section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 …
- S.Res. 546 (95th): A resolution waiving section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 …
- S. 3358 (95th): A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to make studies …
- S.Res. 491 (95th): A resolution authorizing the production of certain materials and the giving of …
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Missed Votes
From Jan 1945 to Oct 1978, Sparkman missed 1,729 of 9,722 roll call votes, which is 17.8%. This is worse than the median of 12.1% among the lifetime records of senators serving in Oct 1978. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
| Time Period | Votes Eligible | Missed Votes | Percent | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 Jan-Mar (House) | 19 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1937 Apr-Jun (House) | 41 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1937 Jul-Aug (House) | 28 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1937 Dec-Dec (House) | 9 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1938 Jan-Jun (House) | 61 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1939 Jan-Mar (House) | 30 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1939 Apr-Jun (House) | 42 | 1 | 2.4% | 17th |
| 1939 Jul-Aug (House) | 16 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1939 Oct-Nov (House) | 6 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1940 Jan-Mar (House) | 32 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1940 Apr-Jun (House) | 63 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1940 Jul-Sep (House) | 28 | 3 | 10.7% | 50th |
| 1940 Oct-Dec (House) | 10 | 2 | 20.0% | 33rd |
| 1941 Jan-Mar (House) | 17 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1941 Apr-Jun (House) | 31 | 1 | 3.2% | 25th |
| 1941 Jul-Aug (House) | 16 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1941 Oct-Dec (House) | 15 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1942 Jan-Mar (House) | 26 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1942 Apr-Jun (House) | 30 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1942 Jul-Sep (House) | 11 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1942 Oct-Nov (House) | 5 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1943 Jan-Mar (House) | 17 | 1 | 5.9% | 56th |
| 1943 Apr-Jun (House) | 49 | 2 | 4.1% | 44th |
| 1943 Jul-Sep (House) | 13 | 1 | 7.7% | 22nd |
| 1943 Oct-Dec (House) | 12 | 3 | 25.0% | 67th |
| 1944 Jan-Mar (House) | 23 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1944 Apr-Jun (House) | 32 | 3 | 9.4% | 56th |
| 1944 Sep-Sep (House) | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1944 Nov-Dec (House) | 7 | 5 | 71.4% | 75th |
| 1945 Jan-Mar (House) | 27 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1945 Apr-Jun (House) | 40 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1945 Jul-Sep (House) | 12 | 1 | 8.3% | 92nd |
| 1945 Oct-Dec (House) | 22 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1945 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 14 | 14 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1945 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 31 | 31 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1945 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 24 | 24 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1945 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 7 | 7 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1946 Jan-Mar (House) | 34 | 3 | 8.8% | 83rd |
| 1946 Apr-Jun (House) | 53 | 2 | 3.8% | 67th |
| 1946 Jul-Aug (House) | 43 | 6 | 14.0% | 92nd |
| 1946 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 13 | 13 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1946 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 75 | 75 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1946 Jul-Aug (Senate) | 48 | 48 | 100.0% | 83rd |
| 1947 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 31 | 4 | 12.9% | 50th |
| 1947 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 57 | 2 | 3.5% | 17th |
| 1947 Jul-Jul (Senate) | 39 | 2 | 5.1% | 67th |
| 1947 Nov-Dec (Senate) | 8 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1948 Feb-Mar (Senate) | 28 | 2 | 7.1% | 43rd |
| 1948 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 74 | 3 | 4.1% | 71st |
| 1948 Aug-Aug (Senate) | 8 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1949 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 38 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1949 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 86 | 1 | 1.2% | 22nd |
| 1949 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 82 | 4 | 4.9% | 33rd |
| 1949 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 20 | 16 | 80.0% | 89th |
| 1950 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 55 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1950 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 85 | 17 | 20.0% | 56th |
| 1950 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 78 | 5 | 6.4% | 56th |
| 1950 Dec-Dec (Senate) | 10 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1951 Jan-Jan 81st Congress (Senate) | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1951 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 20 | 3 | 15.0% | 62nd |
| 1951 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 70 | 1 | 1.4% | 25th |
| 1951 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 94 | 19 | 20.2% | 88th |
| 1951 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 16 | 1 | 6.2% | 38th |
| 1952 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 12 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1952 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 95 | 3 | 3.2% | 12th |
| 1952 Jul-Jul (Senate) | 6 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1953 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 9 | 1 | 11.1% | 20th |
| 1953 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 43 | 1 | 2.3% | 20th |
| 1953 Jul-Jul (Senate) | 38 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1954 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 32 | 2 | 6.2% | 80th |
| 1954 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 50 | 1 | 2.0% | 0th |
| 1954 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 91 | 27 | 29.7% | 90th |
| 1954 Dec-Dec (Senate) | 8 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1955 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 26 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1955 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 38 | 2 | 5.3% | 23rd |
| 1955 Jul-Aug (Senate) | 23 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1956 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 47 | 6 | 12.8% | 85th |
| 1956 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 50 | 4 | 8.0% | 58th |
| 1956 Jul-Jul (Senate) | 33 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1957 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 16 | 1 | 6.2% | 62nd |
| 1957 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 45 | 5 | 11.1% | 62nd |
| 1957 Jul-Aug (Senate) | 46 | 15 | 32.6% | 94th |
| 1958 Feb-Mar (Senate) | 38 | 1 | 2.6% | 24th |
| 1958 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 86 | 2 | 2.3% | 29th |
| 1958 Jul-Aug (Senate) | 76 | 1 | 1.3% | 29th |
| 1959 Jan-Apr (Senate) | 57 | 2 | 3.5% | 41st |
| 1959 May-Aug (Senate) | 128 | 18 | 14.1% | 73rd |
| 1959 Sep-Sep (Senate) | 30 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1960 Jan-Apr (Senate) | 79 | 17 | 21.5% | 86th |
| 1960 May-Aug (Senate) | 123 | 22 | 17.9% | 91st |
| 1960 Sep-Sep (Senate) | 5 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1961 Jan-Apr (Senate) | 31 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1961 May-Aug (Senate) | 137 | 8 | 5.8% | 62nd |
| 1961 Sep-Sep (Senate) | 36 | 1 | 2.8% | 19th |
| 1962 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 22 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1962 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 62 | 1 | 1.6% | 7th |
| 1962 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 122 | 7 | 5.7% | 41st |
| 1962 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 18 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1963 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 8 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1963 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 73 | 10 | 13.7% | 82nd |
| 1963 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 61 | 13 | 21.3% | 74th |
| 1963 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 87 | 6 | 6.9% | 26th |
| 1964 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 60 | 3 | 5.0% | 44th |
| 1964 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 138 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1964 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 106 | 1 | 0.9% | 6th |
| 1964 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1965 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 32 | 2 | 6.2% | 22nd |
| 1965 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 106 | 26 | 24.5% | 88th |
| 1965 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 106 | 42 | 39.6% | 97th |
| 1965 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 15 | 11 | 73.3% | 91st |
| 1966 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 28 | 8 | 28.6% | 82nd |
| 1966 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 56 | 26 | 46.4% | 97th |
| 1966 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 119 | 39 | 32.8% | 91st |
| 1966 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 35 | 18 | 51.4% | 71st |
| 1967 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 53 | 16 | 30.2% | 78th |
| 1967 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 70 | 11 | 15.7% | 65th |
| 1967 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 80 | 7 | 8.8% | 35th |
| 1967 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 111 | 34 | 30.6% | 85th |
| 1968 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 69 | 12 | 17.4% | 62nd |
| 1968 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 96 | 13 | 13.5% | 30th |
| 1968 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 89 | 6 | 6.7% | 20th |
| 1968 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 27 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1969 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 17 | 2 | 11.8% | 63rd |
| 1969 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 26 | 14 | 53.8% | 98th |
| 1969 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 44 | 6 | 13.6% | 80th |
| 1969 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 158 | 45 | 28.5% | 88th |
| 1970 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 100 | 9 | 9.0% | 39th |
| 1970 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 92 | 10 | 10.9% | 49th |
| 1970 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 123 | 29 | 23.6% | 61st |
| 1970 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 106 | 53 | 50.0% | 88th |
| 1971 Feb-Mar (Senate) | 25 | 6 | 24.0% | 70th |
| 1971 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 89 | 12 | 13.5% | 41st |
| 1971 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 109 | 24 | 22.0% | 72nd |
| 1971 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 202 | 31 | 15.3% | 55th |
| 1972 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 119 | 46 | 38.7% | 88th |
| 1972 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 130 | 55 | 42.3% | 86th |
| 1972 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 206 | 75 | 36.4% | 90th |
| 1972 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 75 | 25 | 33.3% | 74th |
| 1973 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 67 | 3 | 4.5% | 32nd |
| 1973 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 192 | 34 | 17.7% | 80th |
| 1973 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 167 | 35 | 21.0% | 89th |
| 1973 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 168 | 34 | 20.2% | 75th |
| 1974 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 94 | 20 | 21.3% | 84th |
| 1974 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 179 | 51 | 28.5% | 90th |
| 1974 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 138 | 16 | 11.6% | 67th |
| 1974 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 133 | 36 | 27.1% | 81st |
| 1975 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 118 | 10 | 8.5% | 63rd |
| 1975 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 141 | 22 | 15.6% | 72nd |
| 1975 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 170 | 25 | 14.7% | 77th |
| 1975 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 182 | 29 | 15.9% | 84th |
| 1976 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 109 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 1976 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 263 | 21 | 8.0% | 29th |
| 1976 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 315 | 6 | 1.9% | 7th |
| 1976 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 13 | 1 | 7.7% | 29th |
| 1977 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 92 | 3 | 3.3% | 17th |
| 1977 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 178 | 14 | 7.9% | 40th |
| 1977 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 233 | 50 | 21.5% | 86th |
| 1977 Oct-Dec (Senate) | 133 | 34 | 25.6% | 82nd |
| 1978 Jan-Mar (Senate) | 78 | 9 | 11.5% | 59th |
| 1978 Apr-Jun (Senate) | 119 | 17 | 14.3% | 72nd |
| 1978 Jul-Sep (Senate) | 237 | 47 | 19.8% | 76th |
| 1978 Oct-Oct (Senate) | 86 | 26 | 30.2% | 83rd |
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
Pronunciation Guide
John Sparkman is pronounced:
The letters stand for sounds according to the following table:
Capital letters indicate a stressed syllable.
