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:
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: National Officers and Executive Board Members
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0012
National Sharecroppers Fund can no longer support National Advisory Committee.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_53_0003
Negro Heroism Praised by Calif. Lawmaker
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0048
Negro Soldier Reprint Request Communication
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0048
"Negro" Soldiers and Publications in War Days: A Historical Record
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_2_0020
Negro Soldiers and Sailors in World War II: A Detailed History
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0018
Negro Soldiers in the Military: A Letter Exchange
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0050
Negroes' Magnificent War Record: A Tribute from Helen Gahagan Douglas
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0003
Old National Welfare Policies in 17th Century Massachusetts: A Closer Look at Holger Jaw
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_2_0012
Opposition to the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1947-10-31
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0002
Overview
80th (1947-1949)