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 511 Collections and/or Records:
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 documents 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 papers on the earliest years of the Cold War and the establishment of the new world order. Interesting topics include the...
Dr. Taylor urges President Nixon to uphold water distribution laws.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_53_0012
Egg Volley at Ford Hall: Helen Gahagan Douglas Takes on Nixon, 1950-01-01 - 1950-12-31
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 10
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_10_0045
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Embracing One World: Helen Gahagan Douglas and the League of Women Voters, December 4, 1944, 1944-12-04
Item — Box: 4, Folder: 37
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.10_4_37_0010
Overview
78th (1943-1945)
Empowering the World: Northwestern College's Commitment to Training Skilled Individuals
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0065
Empowering Women in Public Life: A Congressional Perspective, 1950-01-01 - 1950-12-31
Item — Box: 170, Folder: 7
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_170_7_0012
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
Entitlement of Benefits for Dependents of Enlisted Men
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.1_13_18_0012
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)