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 560 Collections and/or Records:
Administration of the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946: Important Information and Procedures
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_29_1_0010
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)
Advocating for the Discharge of Enlisted 18-Year-Olds
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_29_1_0013
Affidavit of Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1948-03-30
Item — Box: 184, Folder: 6
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_6_184_6_0015
Overview
80th (1947-1949)
Allies in the East: The United States and China's Fight for Democracy, 1944-04-17
Item — Box: 4, Folder: 37
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.10_4_37_0002
Overview
78th (1943-1945)
Amendment to National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.1_13_18_0001
America at a Crossroads: Helen Gahagan Douglas's Speech on Republican Leadership, 1950-10-09
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0035
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future, 1950-10-04
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0036
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
An Extraordinary Woman: Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1950-04-07
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 7
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_7_0034
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Analysis of Total Popular Vote and Candidate's Vote Percentage in Primary Elections 1950, 1950-01-01 - 1950-01-01
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 8
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_8_0006
Overview
81st (1949-1951)