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:
Appeal for Release of Pfc. Lewis Enna
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_29_3_0012
Appeal to Congressman Against Indictment of Nineteen Men by Thomas-Rankin Committee, 1947-11-18
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0026
Overview
80th (1947-1949)
Appreciation for Address on the Negro Soldier
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0004
Appreciation for Address on the Negro Soldier, 1946-01-01 - 1947-12-31
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0004
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Appreciation for Fairness: Correspondence on the Negro Soldier
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0031
Appreciation for Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas' Stand for Equality
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0045
Appreciation for Speech on the Negro Soldier in World War II
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0079
Appreciation for the Negro Soldier: A Letter from American War Mothers
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0064
Article criticizes agricultural policies' impact on poor, calls for action.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_53_0009
AWRT NYC Chapter invites Helen Gahagan Douglas as guest speaker.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0008