Douglas, Helen Gahagan, 1900-1980

Person

Staff Only

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:

Opposition to the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1947-11-04

Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15

Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0004

Overview 80th (1947-1949)

Found in: Carl Albert Center Congressional and Political Collections / Helen Gahagan Douglas Collection / 80th Congress / 80th and 81st Congresses, General Files / Un-American Activities Committee, 1949

Optometrists' Contributions for Helen Gahagan Douglas Campaign Headquarters, 1950-11-01

Item — Box: 164, Folder: 33

Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_164_33_0009

Overview 81st (1949-1951)

Found in: Carl Albert Center Congressional and Political Collections / Helen Gahagan Douglas Collection / Political Papers / Campaign Materials: Circulars, 1950