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 267 Collections and/or Records:
Helen Gahagan Douglas declines commencement speech but may send telegram.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0028
Helen Gahagan Douglas declines invitation to communication course.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0031
In Honor of Our Veterans: Jesse Palmer Post No. 1068
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0075
Inquiry about Report on the Negro in the War, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0061
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Inquiry about Report on the Negro in the War
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0061
Inquiry about 'the History of the American Negro' - Letter to Representative Helen Douglas
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0060
Inquiry about 'the History of the American Negro' - Letter to Representative Helen Douglas, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0060
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Inquiry on the Record of African American Soldiers in World War II
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0080
Inquiry on the Record of African American Soldiers in World War II, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0080
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Invitation to cocktail reception and dinner at Waldorf-Astoria for Boston University Library's distinguished collected and friends.
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_8.12_9_24_0003