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 407 Collections and/or Records:
Letter from Mary McLeod Bethune to Helen Gahagan Douglas: Request for Distribution of Negro Soldier Document
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0083
Letter of Appreciation and Request for Speech Copies
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0017
Letter of Appreciation for Honorable Helen Gahagan's Unbiased Words and Efforts
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0010
Letter of Appreciation for Recognition of the Valor of the Negro Soldier in WWII
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0032
Letter of Appreciation for Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas's Stand for Equality
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0100
Letter of Appreciation for Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas's Stand for Equality, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0100
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation from American Unitarian Youth to Honorable Helen Gahagan Douglas
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0055
Letter of Appreciation from American Unitarian Youth to Honorable Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1946-05-09
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0055
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation to Congresswoman Helen Douglas, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0031
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation to Congresswoman Helen Douglas
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0031