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 5 Collections and/or Records:
Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas Advocates for Housing Legislation, 1948-06-11
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0017
Rent Control Bill Introduced by Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1948-03-11
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0028
Statement from Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas: The Fight for the TEV Housing Bill, 1948-06-07
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0019
The Importance of Freedom and Leadership in The 1944 Election
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_151_1_0017
Urgent Need for Effective Rent Control Legislation in the United States, 1948-03-16
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0029