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The Cavalcade of America: Classic Stories of American History

Presented by OTR.FM Network

The Cavalcade of America is one of the most respected and influential dramatic history series ever produced for radio. Originally created by the DuPont Company, this landmark program dramatizes the pivotal moments, quiet turning points, and extraordinary individuals that shaped the United States.

Each episode presents a carefully crafted dramatization drawn from real American history - stories of courage, ingenuity, sacrifice, and resolve. From inventors and explorers to soldiers, leaders, and everyday citizens, The Cavalcade of America focuses on the human stories behind the nation’s progress, not just the headlines.

This podcast preserves the original recordings from radio’s golden age, offering listeners an authentic old-time radio experience complete with period performances, orchestration, and storytelling style. It’s history as it was once told to millions of Americans: thoughtful, dramatic, and deeply rooted in the belief that progress is driven by people willing to act.

Ideal for history lovers, educators, and fans of classic radio drama, The Cavalcade of America is both an entertaining listen and a time capsule, bringing America’s past to life one story at a time.

213 episodes

  1. Ann Rutledge And Lincoln

    Oct 23, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: October 23, 1940 Cavalcade of America #197, "Ann Rutledge And Lincoln," In the small tavern town of New Salem, Illinois, seventeen-year-old Ann Rutledge experiences the joys and heartaches of first love. When John McNeil courts her and shares her first kiss, Ann believes she has found happiness. However, McNeil leaves for the East with promises to return, leaving Ann waiting and praying for his comeback. As she struggles with loneliness and doubt, the lanky storyteller Abe Lincoln becomes an increasingly familiar presence at her father's tavern. Ann's fiery spirit emerges when the town bully Jack Armstrong terrorizes the tavern patrons. After Armstrong strikes her father, Ann confronts the violent drunkard herself, challenging him to face the one man in town who might stand up to him: Abe Lincoln. Her bold intervention sets in motion a confrontation that will test both Lincoln's courage and Ann's growing connection to the future president, even as she continues to hope for McNeil's return.

  2. The Pathfinder Of The Seas

    Oct 22, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: October 16, 1940 In Cavalcade of America #196, "The Pathfinder Of The Seas," Lieutenant Matthew Fontaine Maury faces the crushing end of his naval career when a stagecoach accident leaves him unable to serve at sea. Instead of commanding the fine ship he'd hoped for, Maury receives orders assigning him to the dreary Navy Observatory in Washington, placed in charge of the depot of charts and instruments. His new colleagues view the position as a graveyard for officers who are crippled or crazy, and they openly mock Maury's published theories about discovering secret pathways in the ocean by studying currents and winds. When Maury arrives at his new post, he discovers his staff has been burning old ship logbooks to heat the office. Recognizing these discarded records as a treasure trove of observations from sailors who've traveled every corner of the seas, Maury sees an opportunity where others see only waste. His vision of charting the ocean's hidden patterns suddenly has the raw data it needs, but he must convince a skeptical Navy establishment that one crippled officer with unconventional ideas can revolutionize maritime navigation and save countless lives.

  3. Valley Forge

    Oct 22, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: October 9, 1940 Cavalcade of America #195, "Valley Forge," presents Maxwell Anderson's poetic drama of the Continental Army's darkest hour. At Valley Forge in the winter of 1778, General George Washington struggles to hold together a starving, freezing army on the brink of collapse. His soldiers, including the desperate Teague and the ailing Neil, debate desertion as they subsist on filthy rations and face the grim reality that Congress has failed to supply them. When Lieutenant Cutting arrives with General Howe's well-fed dog, which has wandered from British-occupied Philadelphia, Washington seizes the opportunity to send a pointed message to his enemy, noting his astonishment that deserters seem to be running toward Valley Forge rather than away from it. The action shifts to Philadelphia, where General Howe enjoys elaborate entertainments with his officers, including Major Andre's theatrical masquerade mocking the ragged colonials. When Spad delivers Washington's letter and Howe's dog, the British commander receives troubling intelligence that France will soon ally with the American cause. As Washington fights to preserve his army and his dream of free men governing themselves, and as Howe contemplates how to exploit the colonial army's dire circumstances, the fate of the revolution hangs in the balance.

  4. The Lost Colony

    Oct 21, 2026 · 32 min

    Originally Aired: October 2, 1940 Cavalcade of America #194, "The Lost Colony," transports listeners to Elizabethan England and the perilous New World. Eleanor White, a young woman dreaming of adventure beyond the confines of her station, finds herself betrothed to the respectable Captain Ananias Dare despite her feelings for John Borden, a tenant farmer. When Sir Walter Raleigh presents his colonial expedition to Queen Elizabeth, Eleanor boldly declares her desire to sail to Roanoke Island, inspiring the Queen to allow women to join the venture. Eleanor's dreams seem realized as she arrives in the New World as Eleanor Dare, now married and sailing with her father, Governor John White, and a company of hopeful colonists. Upon reaching Roanoke, however, the colonists discover a horrifying scene at the fort that was supposed to await them. They find the settlement abandoned and a murdered colonist, killed by Native Americans. The local chief Manteo warns them that his tribe is preparing for war and the white men must leave. The dream of a peaceful colony suddenly becomes a nightmare as Governor White and his settlers, including Eleanor and the pregnant women among them, must decide whether to abandon their hopes or face the deadly dangers that await them in this strange, silent land.

  5. Walter Reed

    Oct 21, 2026 · 32 min

    Originally Aired: June 25, 1940 Cavalcade of America #193, "Walter Reed," brings to life the desperate fight against yellow fever in 1900 Havana, where the mysterious disease has made its permanent and deadly home. Major Walter Reed arrives from the United States to lead a commission investigating the epidemic that is ravaging American troops and civilians alike. He quickly finds himself at odds with Dr. Gorgas, who insists on conventional sanitation methods and dismisses the radical mosquito theory as impractical speculation. Reed's investigation leads him to the elderly Dr. Finlay, a marginalized researcher who has spent years studying the Stegomaya mosquito. Too old and discouraged to continue his work, Finlay entrusts Reed with his most precious legacy: a collection of mosquito eggs and the conviction that these insects are the true carriers of yellow fever. As patients continue to die in the military hospital and soldiers fall ill one after another, Reed faces a critical decision about whether to pursue this unconventional theory through dangerous human experimentation, knowing that time is running out and lives hang in the balance.

  6. Susan B Anthony

    Oct 20, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: June 18, 1940 Cavalcade of America #192, "Susan B Anthony," a young Susan B. Anthony returns home from finishing school in 1838, expected to prepare her hope chest and wait for marriage. Instead, she shocks her father by demanding meaningful work and employment. Despite his objections that women don't work, Susan insists on taking a job in his factory, where she meets fellow women workers organizing secret meetings for women's rights. There she encounters Elizabeth Stanton, who inspires her to become a teacher instead, the one profession open to women where she can advance the cause of women's suffrage. Susan takes Stanton's advice and becomes an educator, but soon faces new battles. At the New York State Teachers Convention, when she attempts to speak on a question before the delegates, the male chairman tries to silence her, claiming she isn't versed in parliamentary procedure. Susan boldly challenges the ruling, asserting her rights as a qualified delegate while male teachers raise points of order to exclude her from debate simply because no woman has ever participated before.

  7. Victor Herbert

    Oct 20, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: June 11, 1940 Cavalcade of America #191, "Victor Herbert," presents the life and creative journey of America's beloved composer as he shapes the musical landscape of a changing nation. The episode traces Herbert's career from his triumph with "Kiss Me Again" in 1905, when President Theodore Roosevelt himself offers congratulations, through decades of memorable operettas including "Naughty Marietta" and "Eileen." As the years progress and Herbert celebrates his 58th birthday surrounded by his orchestra, he faces the challenge of staying relevant in an evolving musical world. The central conflict emerges when Herbert, now established as a traditional composer, must decide whether to embrace new musical forms. When bandleader Paul Whiteman asks him to write for a groundbreaking jazz concert in 1924, Herbert initially hesitates, confessing he knows nothing about writing for jazz bands. The episode explores whether this self-proclaimed "tunesmith" can bridge the gap between the world of handsome cabs and leg-of-mutton sleeves and the modern jazz age, testing whether his gift for melody can transcend changing times and musical styles.

  8. John Sutter

    Oct 19, 2026 · 29 min

    Originally Aired: June 4, 1940 Cavalcade of America #190, "John Sutter," tells the story of the Swiss immigrant who built an empire in California's Sacramento Valley. When Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado faces desperate settlers whose cattle are dying from plague, he offers 50,000 pesos to anyone who can save the herds. John Sutter steps forward with knowledge from his homeland, but he refuses the gold. Instead, he asks for something far more audacious: the entire Sacramento Valley, a territory equal to half of France. The governor strikes a bargain—cure the cattle and prove he can develop the land, and it will be his. The episode follows Sutter as he transforms the wilderness into a thriving settlement, complete with mills, orchards, vineyards, and Fort Sutter. He marries settlers, names the first calf born on his land, and employs thousands of workers to cultivate every acre. When his wife Anna and daughter Laura finally arrive from Switzerland, they find Sutter has become something like an emperor, ruling over a domain larger than their entire homeland—a remarkable achievement built not on gold, but on land and vision.

  9. Show Boat

    Oct 19, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: May 28, 1940 Cavalcade of America #189, "Show Boat," presents the beloved American musical following the adventures of Captain Andy Hawks' floating theater on the Mississippi River. When the sheriff forces leading lady Julie Laverne and her husband Steve Baker to leave the showboat due to Mississippi's laws against mixed-race marriage, Captain Andy faces a crisis: how to put on that night's show without his stars. Into this turmoil steps young Magnolia Hawks, the captain's daughter who dreams of acting, and the charming Gaylord Ravenel, a mysterious wayfarer who has just swept Magnolia off her feet on the levee. The couple becomes the showboat's new leading team, performing night after night along the river to enthusiastic crowds. When Gay proposes, Magnolia accepts, and they leave the showboat behind to build a glamorous new life together in Chicago. As the 1893 World's Fair brings excitement and change to the bustling city, Captain Andy and the formidable Parthy arrive to visit their daughter and son-in-law, discovering how far Magnolia has traveled from her humble beginnings on the river.

  10. Jane Addams Of Hull House

    Oct 18, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: May 21, 1940 Cavalcade of America #188, "Jane Addams Of Hull House," starring Helen Hayes, tells the story of a young woman who trades a comfortable life for a mission to help the poor. As a girl in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams shocks her father by rejecting conventional expectations of marriage and social propriety. A trip to Europe with her sister Ellen opens her eyes when she witnesses the desperate poverty in London's slums, where crowds fight over rotten vegetables. When a guide mentions that similar conditions exist on Halstead Street in Chicago, Jane's path becomes clear. Years later, Jane and her companion establish Hull House in the heart of Chicago's most impoverished district, a thirty-two-mile stretch of tenements housing immigrants from Poland, Slovakia, Italy, and Ireland. Her work helping factory girls demand better hours and tenant rights soon attracts the attention of political boss Regan and his lieutenant Callahan, who see her influence as a threat to their control. Factory owner Siller wants her gone before workers start demanding higher wages. As the ward politicians plot against her, Jane walks directly into their meeting to confront them about the neighborhood's problems.

  11. Roger Williams

    Oct 18, 2026 · 28 min

    Originally Aired: May 14, 1940 Cavalcade of America #187, "Roger Williams," follows the principled minister as he confronts religious tyranny in colonial Massachusetts Bay. Roger Williams preaches passionately against the union of church and state, arguing that the Puritans who fled England seeking religious freedom have now become oppressors themselves, denying freedom of conscience to anyone who disagrees with their beliefs. Despite warnings from his anxious wife Mary and friend John Winthrop, Williams refuses to recant his dangerous opinions before the General Court, insisting that all people—even Jews, Turks, and non-Christians—should have the right to worship freely. The colony's rulers, led by Dr. Hayes and Mr. Winthrop, sentence Williams to banishment for his heresies. When Mary worries about their future and their child Freeborn, Williams remains steadfast in his convictions. The situation grows dire when Thomas Skilton arrives with urgent news: authorities plan to arrest Williams and send him to England in chains as a felon. With John Winthrop's covert help, Williams must flee immediately into the Indian wilderness, leaving his family behind and seeking refuge among the very people whose rights he defended.

  12. The Story Of Nancy Hanks

    Oct 17, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: May 7, 1940 In Cavalcade of America #186, "The Story Of Nancy Hanks," Agnes Moorhead stars as the mother of Abraham Lincoln in this Mother's Day tribute to frontier women. Nancy Hanks recounts her life story, beginning with her courtship by Tom Lincoln. Though she feels a mysterious yearning for something beyond the hardships of frontier life—something as elusive as the purple light in the distant hills—she accepts Tom's proposal of marriage. Tom promises her a simple life in a cabin near Elizabethtown, where they can see the hills, offering only his home and his love. After their wedding celebration featuring a traditional Kentucky "inn fair" with a whiskey-bottle race that Tom wins, the couple settles into their modest cabin. Nancy finds beauty in the wild crab apple blossoms and distant hills, while Tom works the rocky land with its stubborn clay. She spends her days scrubbing, washing, and patching, often sitting by the rock spring and gazing at the hills. It is there that Nancy realizes her time is coming—she will soon bring a child into their frontier home.

  13. The Story Of Tom Paine

    Oct 17, 2026 · 29 min

    Originally Aired: April 30, 1940 Cavalcade of America #185, "The Story Of Tom Paine," In 1774 London, Tom Payne sits at the Cheshire Cheese with poet Oliver Goldsmith, passionately discussing freedom and the growing crisis between England and America. Though England boasts a proud tradition of liberty from Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, Payne sees a dangerous contradiction: a handful of officials in Parliament are imposing unreasonable taxation on the colonies, betraying the very principles Englishmen claim to cherish. When Dr. Benjamin Franklin visits Payne's humble lodgings and finds him paying his last shillings for rent, the elder statesman makes a bold proposal: come to America, where a new world needs new ideas and a voice to crystallize the colonial yearning for freedom. The story follows Payne as he takes Franklin's advice and journeys to Philadelphia, where tensions simmer following events in Boston. As colonists debate whether to remain loyal subjects or stand against oppression, Payne finds himself positioned to give voice to revolutionary ideals through his pen, facing the monumental task of helping a young nation define and fight for the freedom he believes should be every person's right.

  14. Robert E Lee

    Oct 16, 2026 · 30 min

    Originally Aired: April 23, 1940 Cavalcade of America #184, "Robert E Lee," depicts one of the most agonizing decisions in American history. In 1861, as the nation teeters on the brink of civil war, Colonel Robert E. Lee faces an impossible choice. Francis P. Blair, acting on behalf of President Lincoln and Secretary of War Cameron, offers Lee command of the Union Army. Despite his devotion to the Union and his desire to sacrifice everything for it, Lee cannot bring himself to lead an invasion of the Southern states. In a painful meeting with his mentor General Scott, Lee explains that should Virginia secede, he must stand with his native state, even if it means the end of everything he has worked for. The story follows Lee as he resigns his commission and returns to Arlington, where he shares his decision with his wife Mary. When a messenger from Governor Letcher arrives offering him command of Virginia's military forces, Lee accepts, knowing he is committing himself to a path filled with anxiety and sorrow. Major Jackson pledges his support as Lee addresses the Virginia assembly, dedicating himself to his native state's defense.

  15. Daniel Boone

    Oct 16, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: April 16, 1940 Cavalcade of America #183, "Daniel Boone," artist Chester Harding journeys over 200 miles into the Missouri wilderness to paint the legendary frontiersman's portrait. As the elderly Daniel Boone holds still for his likeness, he recounts the story of settling Kentucky, known to the Indians as the "dark and bloody hunting ground." With his wife Rebecca and daughter Jemima, Boone leads settlers across the mountains to establish Fort Boonesboro in 1775, purchasing the land fairly from the Cherokee despite British opposition. The narrative unfolds as Boone and the settlers face the challenge of holding their newly claimed territory against British forces determined to drive them out. Despite having only thirty horses and thirty guns in the vast wilderness, Boone organizes a government and fortifies their position. He brings his family to this dangerous frontier, where Rebecca pledges to follow him with the Biblical devotion of Ruth. The episode captures the spirit of American expansion and the determination of pioneers who sought freedom and "elbow room" in the untamed wilderness beyond the mountains.

  16. Songs Of Stephen Foster An American Legend

    Oct 15, 2026 · 32 min

    Originally Aired: April 9, 1940 Cavalcade of America #182, "Songs Of Stephen Foster An American Legend," Narrated by acclaimed writer Channing Pollock, this episode explores the life and music of Stephen Foster, the composer whose melodies captured the heart of 19th-century America. The story follows Foster's courtship of Jeannie, the woman who inspires some of his most beloved songs. When the awkward young composer encounters his sweetheart entertaining the polished lawyer Richard Cowan, Stephen's social graces falter, but his devotion shines through. After an uncomfortable encounter with his rival, Stephen sits at the piano and wins Jeannie's heart, asking for her answer to his proposal. Her simple "yes" leads to one of his most enduring compositions, "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair." The narrative weaves Foster's personal story with the broader American experience, showing how his songs accompanied pioneers heading west in their wagons and families on Mississippi riverboats. Through scenes of westward expansion and a romantic honeymoon voyage, the episode demonstrates how Foster's music became the soundtrack of a growing nation, expressing universal themes of love, home, and longing that still resonate today.

  17. Benedict Arnold

    Oct 15, 2026 · 32 min

    Originally Aired: April 2, 1940 Cavalcade of America #181, "Benedict Arnold," stars Claude Rains as the controversial Revolutionary War general whose legacy remains one of America's greatest contradictions. Following his heroic victory at the Battle of Saratoga, Arnold recuperates at his sister Hannah's home in New Haven, only to discover that Congress has promoted five junior officers to major general while passing him over. Despite Hannah's warnings about his dangerous pride and refusal to cooperate with superiors, Arnold confronts General Washington about the slight. Washington, recognizing Arnold's military genius despite his difficult temperament, appoints him military governor of Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Arnold hosts a lavish ball where he courts the beautiful Peggy Shippen, a young woman previously courted by British Captain John Andre. As Arnold proposes marriage and promises Peggy a future as bright as the sun, tensions mount with President Reed and the Pennsylvania Council over Arnold's imperious conduct and suspected profiteering. The episode traces the early stages of Arnold's transformation from war hero to potential traitor, examining how ambition, wounded pride, and personal conflicts begin to erode his loyalty to the American cause.

  18. The Story Of John Fitch

    Oct 14, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: March 26, 1940 In Cavalcade of America #180, "The Story Of John Fitch," a disheveled inventor named John Fitch arrives at Nancy Kraft's tavern clutching a model of what he believes will revolutionize American commerce: a steamboat. Despite ridicule from skeptics who call it a "toy boat," Fitch pursues his dream with unwavering determination. When the aging Benjamin Franklin declines to support the project, citing exhaustion and the burdens of public service, Fitch refuses to give up. Instead, he and his partner Harry Voigt, a clockmaker, embark on an arduous campaign to raise funds penny by penny from Philadelphia shopkeepers and neighbors. Fitch faces constant mockery and resistance as he goes door to door seeking investors. Tavern keeper Israel worries the steamboat will ruin his business, while one woman cannot fathom a boat without sails. Yet through persistence, Fitch gradually accumulates contributions from believers like Mr. Toland and Mr. Wells. When he finally raises enough money to build his vessel, word spreads through Philadelphia that the steamboat will make its maiden voyage, testing whether Fitch's vision will triumph or sink.

  19. Jordan S Banks

    Oct 14, 2026 · 30 min

    Originally Aired: March 19, 1940 Cavalcade of America #179, "Jordan S Banks," presents the harrowing tale of Sam Davis, a young Confederate spy operating behind Union lines in Tennessee during 1863. Davis receives a dangerous mission from Captain Coleman (actually Dr. Shaw), who entrusts him with critical plans of Nashville's fortifications that must reach General Bragg in Chattanooga. Disguised in a Union uniform, Davis navigates through enemy territory, managing a brief, bittersweet visit home where his mother tenderly cares for him before he must continue his perilous journey. As Davis travels toward his destination, he encounters multiple Union patrols, skillfully talking his way through each dangerous encounter with quick thinking and assumed identities. He even stops to help a young Southern woman with her broken buggy trace, despite her initial hostility toward his Yankee uniform. However, his luck eventually runs out when a sharp-eyed Union lieutenant catches him in a lie about his regiment's hometown, and Davis finds himself captured with incriminating documents in his possession, facing an uncertain fate that could endanger his fellow Coleman Scouts.

  20. The Raven Wins Texas

    Oct 13, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: March 12, 1940 Cavalcade of America #178, "The Raven Wins Texas," follows Sam Houston as he accepts President Andrew Jackson's challenge to bring Texas into the Union. When the idealistic Stephen Austin ignores Houston's warnings and travels to Mexico City to negotiate with General Santa Anna, he finds himself imprisoned for six months in a dungeon instead of receiving an audience. Meanwhile, Houston works to organize a government and army for Texas, knowing Santa Anna will seek revenge for earlier skirmishes. The situation grows desperate when word arrives that Santa Anna is attacking the Alamo, where Colonel Travis and David Crockett are defending the garrison. Despite urgent calls to march immediately, Houston insists on building a proper army first. When a survivor, Mrs. Dickerson, brings news that the Alamo has fallen after a brutal thirteen-day siege with all 180 defenders massacred by Santa Anna's 4,000 troops, Houston faces the grim reality of leading an unprepared Texas against a merciless enemy determined to crush the American settlers' dream of liberty.

  21. The Stolen General

    Oct 13, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: March 5, 1940 Cavalcade of America #177, "The Stolen General," stars John Garfield as Colonel William Barton in a daring Revolutionary War tale set during America's first Fourth of July celebration in 1777. When Private Coffin escapes from British captivity bearing fresh scars from a brutal whipping ordered by the arrogant General Prescott, he brings vital intelligence to the Colonial militia headquarters at Tiverton, Rhode Island. Prescott, quartered at the Overing estate on nearby Newport Island, is protected by British infantry, cavalry, and a naval squadron, yet Coffin reveals a crucial weakness: only one sentry guards the house itself. Despite the seemingly impossible odds and Colonel Stanton's initial refusal, Barton proposes an audacious plan to slip past the British fleet under cover of darkness, capture the general, and exchange him for the captured American General Lee. When Barton calls for volunteers willing to risk their lives on a secret mission for freedom, the entire regiment steps forward. The volunteers will be selected through boat races, choosing the finest oarsmen for this dangerous Fourth of July expedition that could give the struggling American cause both a propaganda victory and their general back.

  22. Enoch Crosby The Spy

    Oct 12, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: February 27, 1940 In Cavalcade of America #176, "Enoch Crosby The Spy," the story unfolds through a framing narrative in 1820, where former Chief Justice John Jay tells novelist James Fenimore Cooper about an unsung hero of the Revolution. In 1776, shoemaker Enoch Crosby stumbles upon a group of Tories while traveling and successfully poses as a loyalist sympathizer to gather intelligence. Bringing this information to Jay and the Committee of Safety, Crosby volunteers for the most dangerous assignment imaginable: becoming a double agent who will pretend to spy for the British while actually serving the American cause. Crosby's perilous mission takes him into the heart of enemy territory, where he feeds information to British Colonel Harcourt while genuinely working for General Washington and the patriots. The cost of this secret service becomes painfully clear when even his beloved Katie and his own neighbors believe him to be a Tory traitor. With a price on his head and Captain Townsend vowing to hang him on sight, Crosby faces danger from both sides, unable to defend his reputation without compromising the very cause for which he risks everything.

  23. Anne Royall

    Oct 12, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: February 20, 1940 Cavalcade of America #175, "Anne Royall," stars Ethel Barrymore as the fiery journalist and activist who defends freedom of speech in Andrew Jackson's America. Anne Royall is a fearless petticoat editor who travels the country exposing corruption and hypocrisy with her blazing tongue and biting pen. When she publicly accuses John Coyle and his society of undermining the government, powerful men threaten to silence her through the courts. True to their word, they drag her before a judge on the obscure charge of being a "common scold," a forgotten law that carries the punishment of the ducking stool. At the trial, prosecutor Thomas Swan presses the charges while Anne struggles to find witnesses willing to testify on her behalf. Her friends have abandoned her out of fear, leaving only her loyal secretary Sally Stack by her side. As the shabby old women face the legal machinery designed to crush her, Anne refuses to back down from her principles. Despite the threat of a punishment she might not survive, she remains defiant, clinging to her belief in truth and the sacred right to speak it freely in America.

  24. Abraham Lincoln The War Years

    Oct 11, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: February 13, 1940 Cavalcade of America #174, "Abraham Lincoln The War Years," starring Raymond Massey in an original radio play by Robert E. Sherwood based on Carl Sandberg's biography, President-elect Abraham Lincoln begins his perilous journey from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, D.C. in February 1861. As he travels through Decatur, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Philadelphia, Lincoln encounters a divided nation, with crowds both skeptical and hostile toward the incoming president. In Philadelphia, detective Allan Pinkerton warns Lincoln and advisor Norman Judd of an assassination plot awaiting him in Baltimore, led by a dangerous man named Fernandina and his armed followers. Despite his wife Mary's fears about civil war and the dangerous road ahead, Lincoln maintains his characteristic calm and determination. He addresses the threat with his typical pragmatic wisdom, telling the worried advisors about his policy of never crossing Fox River until he comes to it. The episode dramatizes the mounting tensions facing Lincoln as he secretly alters his travel plans to avoid assassination, arriving in Washington under cover of night on the eve of his inauguration, even as critics denounce this security measure as undignified for a president.

  25. Jean Laffite

    Oct 11, 2026 · 31 min

    Originally Aired: February 6, 1940 Cavalcade of America #173, "Jean Laffite," presents a pivotal moment during the War of 1812 when America faces its darkest hour. General Andrew Jackson anxiously awaits intelligence about British General Packenham's approaching fleet of fifty warships carrying 10,000 battle-hardened troops fresh from defeating Napoleon. Jackson's hastily assembled militia camp in the Louisiana swamps seems hopelessly unprepared, and the general fumes over Governor Claiborne's warnings about not only the British threat but also the activities of a notorious French pirate named Jean Laffite. In vibrant New Orleans, Laffite himself holds court at a sidewalk café, conducting his smuggling business with charm and generosity. Despite the governor's proclamation offering $500 for his capture, Laffite remains unconcerned, beloved by the city's merchants and common people alike. Accompanied by his loyal associate Gambio, he distributes money to street urchins and the church while planning his next ventures. When Laffite discovers that Governor Claiborne has arrested his brother Pierre, the charismatic privateer must decide how to respond to this direct challenge to his freedom and family.