Every season of Cavalcade of America ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of Cavalcade of America!

Dramatized incidents are used to show how Benjamin Franklin delayed a conference between Lord Howe and John Adams until the spring rainy season commenced, thereby allowing General Washington to extricate his troops from Long Island under the cover of a storm.

This drama sent the ""old and obstinate"" Franklin to delay American surrender talks with the British, thereby allowing General George Washington to escape capture to fight another day.

Poor Richard

The Revolutionary War story of Lydia Darragh, American patriot and Philadelphia widow, who by her cleverness gained information instrumental in an American victory.

All's Well with Lydia

The story of an 19th century genius who adapted 20th century methods to solve an American problem, Eli Whitney first begins to manufacture muskets.

The Man Who Took a Chance

The tale of the two beautiful Peabody Sisters who become rivals for the love of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

A Romance to Remember

The story of how Samuel Morse, after many hardships, gained recognition for the first telegraph.

What Hath God Wrought

A story about Clara Louise Maas, a Spanish-American War nurse who allowed herself to be bitten by a Stegomyia mosquito in order to further the experiments which were being conducted in the Las Animas Hospital in Havana under the direction of Dr. William C. Gorgas during a yellow fever epidemic at the turn of the century.

No Greater Love

John Honeyman, American patriot, pretends to be a Tory in order to gain information that will mean Washington?s victory over the Hessians.

In This Crisis

The career of Andrew Johnson, who, starting as a tailor, became the 17th President.

The Arrow and the Bow

The story of the tragic romance and marriage of Jefferson Davis and Sarah Knox Taylor.

What Might Have Been

The legendary tale of Abe Lincoln and his great love for Ann Rutledge.

New Salem Story

A historical drama portraying the misunderstanding between Sam Houston and his wife, Eliza, which resulted in Houston's resignation of the governorship of Tennessee.

The story of Sam Houston, hero of the Alamo, who gave the woman he loved a locket engraved with one word, ""integrity"" but had she earned the right to wear it?

A Matter of Honor

Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, uses himself as a guinea pig and is inoculated with the germs of small pox in a heroic effort to establish control of the disease.

Experiment at Monticello

A pre-Revolutionary War drama. The freedom of the press is upheld through the trial and acquittal of John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper publisher who was imprisoned for printing the truth about corruption of the British administration.

Story of John Peter Zenger in the famous  trial that established American freedom of the press.

Mightier Than the Sword

A story about Thomas Davenport, a blacksmith, and his long struggle to invent and perfect the electric motor. Setting: Brandon, Vt., in the 1830's.

The story of how Thomas Davenport neglected his blacksmith trade and failed in business, but won immortality in science by inventing the first electric motor.

The Indomitable Blacksmith

A true story about Christopher Ludwick, the baker, who came to America in 1776 from Germany. He made a most unusual gingerbread man which later became famous in America. He lived with his wife in Philadelphia.

A comedy-drama about an elderly German baker who persuades 123 Hessian soldiers to desert the British Army during the American Revolution.

The Gingerbread Man

Dramatizes an incident in the career of Captain John Paul Jones. Describes a raid made by Americans under Jones' leadership on the English coast at Whitehaven in 1778 and the unexpected outcome of the action.

Night Strike

Dramatizes the story of Samuel Slater, a young Englishman, who came to America in 1790 and struggled to construct from memory the cotton spinner, the plan of which England jealously guarded to insure a monopoly on the machine.

Slater's Dream

Dramtizes the events which led to the decision of the pirate Jean Lafitte to join Andrew Jackson in the defense of New Orleans against the English forces in 1814.

The Pirate's Choice

Dramatizes John Adams' difficult and unpopular decision to defend eight English soldiers who participated in a Boston riot prior to the Revolution.

John Yankee

A historical drama showing how young Theodore Roosevelt, undaunted by a blizzard, pursues and captures three outlaws in the Dakota Bad Lands. Time: 1886.

The Tenderfoot

Sam Mulford, a famous American whale hunter who resents the English tax on whales and the methods employed by the King's tax collectors along the coast of Long Island goes to England, where, with the help of Lady Montagu, he takes his complaint to the royal court. Time: 1712.

Sam and the Whale

A Revolutionary War drama. When romance-seeking British General Prescott arranges to meet Dorothea Meadows in an unprotected house in Rhode Island, he is captured by Miss Meadows' co-conspirator, Colonel Barton.

The Stolen General

In Georgia during the American Revolution, a beautiful girl and a gleaming rifle bring aid to the cause of freedom.

Messengers vital to the cause of the Colonies are hidden by Nancy Hart beneath the floor of her cabin in the Georgia hills. When the safety of one messenger is threatened, she uses cunning and force to protect him.

Breakfast at Nancy's

A dramatization of the meeting of General Lee and General Grant at Appomattox based on detailed accounts of fourteen eye-witnesses to the surrender. The surrender of Robert E. Lee's army to the Union Army headed by U.S. Grant in 1865 ends the four years of war between the Union and the Confederacy.

Sunset at Appomattox

Shows how a high school science teacher is helping to develop a better America for younger generations through his efforts in the field of  science education. Explains that educators can alleviate the manpower shortage in scientific fields by stimulating the interest of exceptional high school students and encouraging them to pursue scientific careers.

And to Fame Unknown

A historical drama showing the events which led to the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.

A Time to Grow

Becoming aware of corruption in politics in New York, Thomas Nast, known for his drawings of Santa Claus, initiates a series of cartoons in which Boss Tweed is symbolized as a snarling tiger. In spite of threats and slander the cartoonist continues his work and inflames the public to the overthrow of the corrupt Tweed political machine. Time: 1870's.

Tiger's Tail

Daniel Webster, tormented by memories of selfish deeds, is comforted as he nears the end of his life by friends who point out that his constructive acts will be remembered.

The Last Will of Daniel Webster

A historical drama. Distressed by the outbreak of  war between the States, Pauline Cushman, famous actress, offers her services as a Union espionage agent behind the Confederate lines.

Major Pauline

A drama depicting the evolution of Benedict Arnold's plan to surrender West Point to the British and his subsequent flight to England when papers incriminating him were intercepted. Time: 1777-1780.

Betrayal

A historical drama. The pony express era is initiated by Alexander Majors, one of the owners of a transport firm, who, in searching for methods of  transporting mail and packages across the West, delves into history and adapts the relay courier system as used by Genghis Khan.

Riders of the Pony Express

The editor of the Tribune, Horace Greeley,(America's Titan of the Press) influenced by a conversation with President Lincoln, changes his views regarding Jefferson Davis and proceeds, with some risk to his career, to conduct a successful crusade to free the ex-Confederate president from prison. Time: latter half of nineteenth century.

One Nation Indivisible

A drama relating the events which led to Charles Willson Peale's conception of the idea of establishing in Philadelphia a national museum of natural history and his efforts to provide the museum with noteworthy exhibits. Time: 1794. Painter Charles Wilson Peale risks his career and possessions to excavate and reconstruct a fossilized mastadon, the greatest skeleton ever seen in his day.

Mr. Peale's Dinosaur

Dr. Joseph Goldberger fights disbelief and prejudice, after touring stricken areas in the South, he conceives and attempts to prove his theory that pellagra is the result of a dietary deficiency. Time: 1915.

G for Goldberger

A historical drama. The captain of an American ship, anchored in the Turkish port of Smyrna, risks of a battle with three Austrian ships when he demands the release of an Austrian-born prisoner who has applied for American citizenship. U.S. Naval Commander Ingraham defies the Austrian Navy to protect an American subject.

Smyrna Incident

Dramatizes the life of Henry William Stiegel, who came to America from Germany and rose from a worker in an iron foundry to be head of  a large glass factory. Describes Stiegel's realization, following his financial ruin, that material success did not make him superior to other men, but that his greatness lay in the beauty of the glassware which he created. He built a church and received as rent, one red rose.

Man of Glass

A historical drama about Francis Huger, an American medical student, and Erich Bollman, a young German physician, who attempt to rescue Lafayette from an Austrian prison in 1794.

The Plume of Honor

A historical drama about an American spy, posing as a loyal Tory, who is responsible for the strategic landing of French troops in America while British forces are being concentrated in New York City to withstand a supposed attack by General Washington.

The Culpers, famous spies, enable reinforcements to land in Rhode Island during the American Revolution.

Margin of Victory

A historical drama about Jack Jouett, a patriotic Virginian who risks his life to warn Thomas Jefferson that British soldiers are planning to capture him in a surprise attack on Monticello. (Year 1781)

The Absent Host

A dramatization of the efforts of Wyatt Earp to free the West of dangerous armed gunmen. Earp's activities in Dodge City, Kansas, in Deadwood, South Dakota and in Tombstone, Arizona, are highlighted.

Duel at the OK Corral

Dramatizes the life of William Penn from his early interest in the Society of  Friends, which led to his imprisonment under the Conventicle act, to his ultimate success in founding in the New World a colony where religious freedom became a reality. Time: 1701

The Splendid Dream

A historical drama about thirteen-year-old Andrew Jackson, who, with his older brother Robert, joins the militia and engages in guerrilla fighting against the British.

Young Andy Jackson

A historical drama. After taking part in an unsuccessful revolt against the King of  Prussia and his army, Carl Schurz and two compatriots, refusing to surrender to the army, escape from soldiers guarding the town of Rastatt, Germany, in 1849.

Escape

Relates the story of the life work of Matthew Fontaine Maury, founder of the United States Weather Bureau, who advanced and proved his revolutionary theory that the paths of the sea--winds, currents, and temperature--could be accurately predicted and charted. Time: mid-nineteenth century.

Riddle of the Seas

The life of Theodore Judah portray his attempts to realize his dream of  unifying the country with a railroad system. Portrays his trips from California to Washington by boat and burro, his initial failure in 1859 to secure help from Congress and from California businessmen, his work in surveying a route through the Sierra Mountains, the encouragement of Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker, the formation of a company to start work, and Judah's death before the fulfillment of his dream. ""Crazy Judah"" is the name Theodore Judah gets when he tries to sell his idea of a transcontinental railroad to the politicians of 19th century Americans.

Crazy Judah

A historical drama about the adventures of George Merchant, an American rifleman from the Virginia backwoods who is captured by the British at Quebec, sent to England as a prisoner, and released early in 1776 by colonial sympathizers to deliver to Hancock several letters which affect the decision of the Continental Congress to declare independence for the Colonies.

A Strange Journey

Dramatizes the story of James King, a fearless newspaper editor, whose murder because of his crusade against corrupt officials in the San Francisco government set into motion one of the most sweeping reform movements in American history. Time: 1855.

The Paper Sword

Dramatizes the career of Mark Wilson, a high school football coach who taught principles of living as well as football fundamentals to his players, one of whom was Otto Graham of  the Cleveland Browns. Frank Leahy, former Notre-Dame coach, introduces the story and participates in a closing interview with Mark Wilson and Otto Graham.

Saturday Story

Dramatized incidents tell the story of the efforts of Captain Anthony Lucas, an Austrian mining engineer, to prove his theory regarding the feasibility of drilling for oil in the salt-dome formations of  the Beaumont area. Describes the equipment and methods which he used in drilling, his unsuccessful attempts, and his ultimate success when the first big gusher in the Southwest came in at Spindletop, Texas.

Spindletop

Dramatizes the experiences of Cora Wilson Stewart, a county superintendent and a teacher in a one-room school who succeeds in establishing a night class for adults in a backward section of Kentucky which is unsympathetic to book learning. Time: 1911.

Moonlight School

A Mexican family--one brother is murdered and the gems from his house are stolen. His brother comes to investigate the murder and theft. He gets to the most influential woman and there he finds the answer.

Cat With Crimson Eyes

Dramatized incidents portray the courage and skill of a captain's wife who was forced to assume command of a clipper ship sailing from New York to San Francisco with the annual allotment of supplies for the Indians of California and Oregon.

The Skipper's Lady

After a long battle with racism, Turner looks for answers to find meaning in life.

Courage in Connecticut

A dramatization about Cyrus Field, who after several unsuccessful attempts, realized his dream of laying a cable across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Ireland.

The story of the great faith and fortitude of Cyrus Field in his attempt to lay the first telegraphy cable beneath the Atlantic Ocean.  Field was labeled a swindler when his first try failed, but he continued his work.

The Great Gamble

The events in the life of Eliphalet Remington leading to the development of his famous rifle which played an important part in American history because it gave to the pioneers a cheap and superior substitute for European-made weapons.

Eliphalet Remington builds his own rifle on his father's forge. He then enters a shooting match in an attempt to prove that American-made goods offer worthy competition for the more expensive European-made items.

The Forge

In the midst of preparations for his political debates with Douglas, Lincoln successfully defends William Armstrong, a benefactor's son who is charged with murder.

Moonlight Witness

A drama about Father Junipero Serra, an 18th century Spanish missionary who devoted his life to establishing missions up and down the coast of California. Depicts incidents connected with the Portola Expedition to San Diego in 1769 and portrays the role of Father Serra in civilizing the Indians there.

The Gentle Conqueror

Relates the story of James Ohio Pattie, the first American to write an account of  a visit to California. Reenacts his arrival in San Diego, the Mexican provincial capital, in 1828, and portrays his role in averting a smallpox epidemic, thus winning the friendship of the Mexicans and freedom for the Americans whom they held in captivity.

Mountain Man

The history of Thanksgiving Day is presented by dramatizations of the holiday as it was in Washington's time and Lincoln's time.

American Thanksgiving

The story of Ann and Adoniram Judson, American missionaries, whose determination to return love and understanding for hatred not only saved their own lives but also helped end the war between Great Britain and Burma in 1824.

Ordeal in Burma

A dramatization of a typical twenty-four-hour period in a doctor's life. Follows his activities during his night calls, his work at a hospital, his office appointments, and his efforts to save the life of a young stranger who is the victim of a rare disease.

Night Call

A biographical account of the wartime medical service of Dr. Mary Walker, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for her courageous work as a civilian surgeon among Federal troops during the Civil War.

A Medal for Miss Walker

A dramatization of some of the events leading up to the American Revolution. Shows the part played by James Otis in defending the right of citizens to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure of home and property.

A Man's Home

A story about Lou Diamond, a marine gunnery sergeant who refused to let old age and sickness keep him from his post with the Fifth Marine Regiment during World War II.

The Marine Who Was 200 Years Old

An account of the heroic mission of  Lt. Andrew Rowan, who braved the Cuban jungles, risking capture and execution by Spanish troops in order to obtain information to aid the United States in the Spanish-American War.

A Message from Garcia

A biographical account of the career of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor to practice in America, who, with the assistance of her younger sister, managed the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Dr.Elizabeth Blackwell is befriended by New York newspaperman Horace Greeley in her struggle to obtain recognition and respect for professional women.

Petticoat Doctor

The story of the Navy's first plane to take off vertically and of the man, Lt. Col. ""Skeets"" Coleman, who made the first take-off.

Take Off Zero

Dramatizes an episode in the life of Chief Justice John Marshall, showing how his decision in the case of Marbury vs. Madison resulted in the recognition of the Supreme Court as the final authority in the interpretation of the Constitution.

Decision for Justice

The heroic activities of Captain Robert Stobo,of the Virginia Militia, who, as a prisoner of the French during the French and Indian War, procured for the British the plans of Forts Duquesne and Quebec and made possible an important British victory.

The Hostage

A biographical drama about Doctor Abraham Jacobi and his wife, Doctor Mary Putnam Jacobi, whose theories about prenatal and child care brought about the recognition of pediatrics as a separate branch of medicine.

That They Might Live

Typical incidents in the daily life of a city patrolman are used inexplaining the role of the police force in protecting citizens and maintaining order in the community.

Man on the Beat

The events leading to the construction of the Monitor, the ironclad ship built by the Federal Government during the Civil War to oppose the Merrimac.

The Ship That Shook the World

Dramatizes the career of Dr. George Minot, and Nobel prize winner who disregarded his own diabetic condition and successfully continued his experiments to effect a cure for pernicious anemia. Time: 1922.

The Gift of Dr. Minot

Shows how the influences of a farm environment, the necessity of assuming responsibility, and the receiving of faith and trust from a loving family contribute toward the rehabilitation of an unhappy city orphan.

How to Raise a Boy

Tells how Mrs. Alice Lloyd, a forty-year-old Bostonian, started a school in the mountain town of  Caney, Kentucky, in 1916 and gradually overcame local opposition to education by showing that her students could use their education to help their own community.

Stay On, Stranger!

Dramatizes the campaign waged by James E. West and Theodore Dreiser to establish the first juvenile court in the District of Columbia.

Half a century ago a young attorney named James E. West became interested in juvenile delinquents.  His fight for more humane treatment of mistreated youngster led to a great improvement in the laws.

Sunrise on a Dirty Face

A drama about a newspaper editor's reluctant decision to print a story which will bring sorrow to a man whom he deeply respects.

Six Hours to Deadline

Dramatizes the part played by Allan Pinkerton and his National Detective Agency in thwarting a Southern plot to assassinate Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore in 1861 on his way to his first inauguration.

The Palmetto Conspiracy

During the War of 1812 a Baltimore attorney goes on a rescue mission behind the British lines.  His name is Francis Scott Key and the trip inspires him to write the national anthem, ""The Star Spangled Banner.""

The Rescue of Dr. Beanes

The story of ""Nancy Merki and the swimming coach who led her to victory over polio and to Olympic stardom.

A Time for Courage

A phase of the work of the Texas Rangers in the late nineteenth century is described in a dramatization about J. L. Armstrong, the ranger who captured John Wesley Hardin on a train in Florida and thwarted the prisoner's efforts to escape during the long train journey from Florida to Texas.

The Texas Rangers

A tribute to Dr. Ralph Bunche, undersecretary of the United Nations.  The drama is based on the early life of the statesman, who was orphaned at the age of  8 and was guided from then on by his aged grandmother.

Toward Tomorrow

The work, organization, and purpose of the Civil Air Patrol is described in a dramatization about a CAP pilot in California who risks his life to fly doctors and emergency supplies into a canyon community seriously damaged by an earthquake.

Disaster Patrol

A historical drama showing how General Francis Marion, a colonial officer during the American Revolution, won the admiration and eventually the support of a young British officer who witnessed the general's tactical suppression of a mutiny among colonial volunteer soldiers. Setting: Georgetown South Carolina, in 1780.

The Swamp Mutiny

The story of John Staniszewski, a Polish seaman who tried to gain American citizenship after World War 2.

Chain of Hearts

This is the true story of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.  The principals in the organization were two alcoholics, one a financial genius, the other a doctor.  Both men's lives and careers were threatened by their drinking problem, until they found that by working together they could cure each other and other victims.

One Day at a Time

A drama showing how Benjamin Franklin, an inexperienced diplomat and member of  the American Commission to France, negotiated a treaty providing for French aid to the Colonies in their war with England. Setting: Paris, during the American Revolution.

Crisis in Paris

A true story of a Saskatchewan farm boy who finished medical school in a wheel chair after he became paralyzed by polio.

Doctor on Wheels

A documentary drama about life in a German prison camp. When a group of  GIs in a German prison camp in 1944 pool their resources in order to hold a Christmas Mass, the prison commandant not only permits the service to continue but, with the guards, joins the prisoners in their worship.

Barbed Wire Christmas

The work of a postal inspector is described in a dramatization about two postal inspectors who expose the civilian supervisor of a prison mail room as an extortioner who has been using the mails to defraud the parents of servicemen reported missing during the Korean War.

Postmark: Danger

Based on a true story of a Korean youngster who to give up his dream.  With the assistance of sympathetic soldiers and a Catholic priest, the boy managed to achieve his dream of going to America.

The Boy Who Walked to America

A girl is overcome with remorse when the soldier she refused to marry is killed in Korea.  Her unusual guilt complex leads her to commit a series of crimes, for which she is imprisoned. Convicted forgery when she is paroled, her parole officer is troubled by her inexplicable behavior.

The Prison Within

The true story about a warmhearted police officer in Union City, N. J., who attempts to secure an apartment in a low-cost housing project for an embittered old woman and her five-year-old grand-daughter.

Star and Shield

The story about a child-therapist who helps bedridden children in hospitals to retain an interest in life.

The Secret Life of Joe Swedie

The true story of the Japanese gardener who, under the sponsorship of a pioneer civic leader, beautified Miami Beach area with his imaginative planting of lush greenery.  He eventually became one of the city?s honored citizens.

Call Home the Heart

The Hathaways are a deaf and blind couple who fight for their right to keep and care for their newborn baby.

The Listening Hand

The story of a California schoolboy who, in spite of the knowledge that he has an inaccurate disease, sets the world?s record for the high school shot-put and leads a full life before death overtakes him.

A Life to Live By

A judge introduces the parents of an unhappy child to a toy loan library.

The Doll Who Found a Mother

True story of Red Sox star outfielder Jackie Jensen and Ralph Kerchum, the high school teacher whose guidance and friendship made the difference between greatness or oblivion.

The Jackie Jensen Story

In the Far East, a young American diplomat and his wife cope with a polio epidemic and the threat of civil war.

The Best Seasons of Cavalcade of America

The Best Seasons of Cavalcade of America

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5