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:
Appreciation for Speech on the Negro Soldier in World War II
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0079
Appreciation for the Negro Soldier: A Letter from American War Mothers
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0064
Article criticizes agricultural policies' impact on poor, calls for action.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_53_0009
AWRT NYC Chapter invites Helen Gahagan Douglas as guest speaker.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0008
Barbara requests approval for pageant script changes, promoting social causes.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0027
Betrayal of Palestine: Remarks by Hon. Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1948-03-22
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0016
Bill to Incorporate AMVETS, American Veterans of World War II
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.1_13_18_0004
Bradford Community Club invites Mrs. Melvin Douglass as a speaker.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0022
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)
Building National Unity: Northwestern College's Mission
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0049