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 560 Collections and/or Records:
Urgent Appeal to Protect Constitutional Guarantees: A Letter to Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1946-01-01 - 1946-01-01
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0017
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Urgent Need for Effective Rent Control Legislation in the United States, 1948-03-16
Item — Box: 171, Folder: 3
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_171_3_0029
Urgent Plea for Civil Liberties: A Letter to Hon. Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1947-11-17
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0025
Overview
80th (1947-1949)
Urgent Plea to Support Thomas and Committee Against Un-American Accusations, 1946-01-01 - 1946-01-01
Item — Box: 74, Folder: 15
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_3.2_74_15_0023
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Urgent Request for Discharge: Gerald Fadem's Mother Seeks Assistance
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_29_3_0014
Urgent Request for Passport: Washington D.C., 1946-01-01 - 1947-12-31
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0008
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Urgent Support Needed for Santa Barbara Campaign, 1950-10-03
Item — Box: 173, Folder: 7
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_5_173_7_0009
Overview
81st (1949-1951)
UT Knoxville inviting Helen Gahagan Douglas to speak, seeking dates and honorarium.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0009
Victory Beyond War: Helen Gahagan Douglas' Vision for Peace and Progress, 1944-05-02
Item — Box: 4, Folder: 37
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.10_4_37_0005
Overview
78th (1943-1945)
Western 1201: Class of Service Symbols, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0077
Overview
79th (1945-1947)