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 12 Collections and/or Records:
Concerns Regarding Veterans Benefits under the G.I. Bill and Federal Bonus, 1946-11-26
Item — Box: 13, Folder: 18
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.1_13_18_0010
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Helen Gahagan Douglas Collection
Collection
Identifier: CAC-CC-014
Scope and Contents
The Douglas Collection covers the former congresswoman's life from her early stage career until her death in 1980. Because the bulk of the materials document her years in Congress, the collection is especially rich in covering events and issues central to the immediate post-World War II era. Due to her service on the Foreign Affairs Committee, there is a large amount of material on the earliest years of the Cold War and the establishment of the new world order. Other topics of note include the...
Inquiry on the Record of African American Soldiers in World War II, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0080
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter from a Negro Soldier to Mini Douglas, 1946-01-01 - 1947-12-31
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0057
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Congratulations to Helen G. Douglas for Speech on Negro Soldiers in World War II, 1946-02-16
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0098
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Preserving the Records: The Struggles and Dreams of a Civilian Nurse, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0037
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Request for Congressional Record of Contributions to African American Soldiers, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0028
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Research Project Request: The Plight of the Negro Today, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0067
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Struggles for Discharge: The Case of Lt. John H. Esterline, 1945-12-20
Item — Box: 29, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_29_3_0013
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
The Negro Soldier: Address by Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1946-03-18
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0024
Overview
79th (1945-1947)