Douglas, Helen Gahagan, 1900-1980
Person
Biographical:
Helen Gahagan Douglas (1900-1980) began her professional career on the Broadway stage and was deemed a "star" at age twenty-two. By the 1930s, she left the Northeast and moved to California with her husband, Hollywood actor Melvyn Douglas. Although she made only one movie herself--the science fiction film, She--she soon found herself immersed in politics. She worked with the Farm Security Administration and later was elected Democratic National Committeewoman from California. In 1944, she was elected as the representative of California's Fourteenth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was successfully reelected to this position in 1946 and 1948. A tireless New Deal Democrat, Douglas was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and served as an alternate delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 1950, she opposed Richard M. Nixon in the general election for the U.S. Senate. The campaign was especially brutal with the Republicans quite "liberal" in their charges that Douglas was a communist. Nixon easily won the election. Though Douglas never entered the political fray again, she remained a tireless public speaker and activist.
Found in 14 Collections and/or Records:
A Call for Equality: Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas' Support of H.R. 792, 1949-05-11
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0009
Advocating for Optometrists: A Letter from Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1950-10-30
Item — Box: 164, Folder: 33
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_164_33_0022
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Building a Better Community: Community Homes, Inc., 1947-07-11
Item — Box: 48, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_48_9_0002
Overview
80th (1947-1949)
Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas Advocates for Housing Legislation, 1948-06-11
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0017
Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas Fights for the TEW Housing Bill, 1948-06-12
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0021
Equality in Employment: The Urgent Need for H.R. 792, 1949-05-11
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0008
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Letter from Congressman Lyle H. Boren to Mrs. Octavia Douglass Regarding the Federal Music Project, 1940-02-09
Item — Box: 13, Folder: 39
Identifier: CAC_CC_007_2_13_39_0006
Opposition to the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1947-11-04
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0004
Overview
80th (1947-1949)
Optometrists' Contributions for Helen Gahagan Douglas Campaign Headquarters, 1950-11-01
Item — Box: 164, Folder: 33
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_164_33_0009
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Progress Update and Appreciation: Community Homes, Inc. - July 22, 1947, 1947-06-03
Item — Box: 48, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_48_9_0008
Overview
80th (1947-1949)