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 11 Collections and/or Records:
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)
Comparing Candidates: Congressman Nixon vs. Mrs. Douglas, 1950-08-29
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 8
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_8_0005
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Comparing Congressman Nixon and Mrs. Douglas: The Clear Choice for United States Senator, 1950-08-29
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 2
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_2_0020
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Comparing the Records: Congressman Richard Nixon vs. Mrs. Douglas for United States Senator, 1950-08-29
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 8
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_8_0015
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Establishing a Civilian Conservation Corps: A Solution for Unemployment and Conservation Challenges in America, 1950-05-15
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0008
Helen Gahagan Douglas: Voting Record on Selected Issues in the 79th Congress (1945-1945), 1950-01-01 - 1950-12-31
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 2
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_2_0009
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Support for the Engle-Scudder Bill: A Call for Action in the Sacramento Valley, 1950-04-17
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0031
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
The Battle for Public Power: Memo on the First Deficiency Appropriations Bill, 1949-01-31
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0010
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
The Employment Assistance Act of 1950: Addressing Unemployment in California and Beyond, 1950-02-27
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0010
The Future Course of Our Nation and the World: A Call to Action, 1950-09-06
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0013
Overview
81st (1949-1951)