Democratic Party should "do everything necessary to maintain an all-white party." During his administration, Alabama voters approved the Boswell Amendment, which reduced the already limited franchise of black people in the state. Sparks had campaigned heavily for the amendment, saying it was needed to prevent "a flood of Negroes" from registering to vote as a result of the recent US Supreme Court ruling Smith v. Allwright (1944) that determined white primaries were unconstitutional, as used in Alabama and some other states to restrict access to Democratic Party primaries, which were the only competitive political contests left. In response to nationwide protests over the kidnapping and gang rape of Recy Taylor, an African American woman from Abbeville, Sparks "reluctantly agreed to launch an investigation" to keep the Federal government from becoming involved. The six white men who raped Taylor admitted to authorities what they had done, but two all-white grand juries subsequently declined to indict them. (As most blacks could not vote, they were excluded from juries.) In 2011, the Alabama House of Representatives apologized to Taylor on behalf of the state "for its failure to prosecute her attackers" and bring them to justice. Later life Sparks was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1950 by Democrat Gordon Persons. Sparks devoted the rest of his life to his private law practice in Eufaula. A lifelong bachelor, he died there on November 6, 1968. Legacy and honors The Gov. Chauncey Sparks House in Eufala was listed in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places. References External links Governor Sparks , Alabama Archives 1884 births 1968 deaths American white supremacists Democratic Party governors of Alabama Mercer University alumni People from Barbour County, Alabama Alabama state court judges Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Old Right (United States) 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians