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:
Letter of Appreciation for Recognition of the Valor of the Negro Soldier in WWII
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0032
Letter of Appreciation for Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas's Stand for Equality, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0100
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation for Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas's Stand for Equality
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0100
Letter of Appreciation from American Unitarian Youth to Honorable Helen Gahagan Douglas, 1946-05-09
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0055
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation to Congresswoman Helen Douglas
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0031
Letter of Appreciation to Congresswoman Helen Douglas, 1946-01-01 - 1946-12-31
Item — Box: 22, Folder: 9
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0031
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Appreciation to Hon. Helen Douglas, 1946-03-20
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0022
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Approval: A Soldier's Response to a Speech, 1946-01-01 - 1947-12-31
Item — Box: 23, Folder: 1
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_23_1_0037
Overview
79th (1945-1947)
Letter of Congratulations for Speech on the Negro and the War in Congress
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0082
Letter of Congratulations to Helen G. Douglas for Speech on Negro Soldiers in World War II
Digital item
Identifier: CAC_CC_014_2.2_22_9_0098