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:
A Call for Equality: Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas' Support of H.R. 792, 1949-05-11
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0009
Challenges and Solutions for Older Workers: A Call to Action by Honorable Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1950-01-01 - 1950-12-31
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0007
Equality in Employment: The Urgent Need for H.R. 792, 1949-05-11
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0008
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
Establishing a Civilian Conservation Corps: A Solution for Unemployment and Resource Conservation, 1950-05-15
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0009
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Re-Establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps: A Proposal for a Sustainable Future, 1950-05-17
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0029
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 Fight for Democracy: Excerpts from Helen Gahagan Douglas's Speech, 1950-04-11
Item — Box: 172, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_172_9_0005
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
The Fight for Labor Rights: Helen Gahagan Douglas' Speech on the Repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, 1949-04-27
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0024
The Path to Post-War Prosperity: A Call to Learn from History, 1944-03-30
Item — Box: 4, Folder: 37
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.10_4_37_0001
Overview
78th (1943-1945)