Cavalcade of America - The Louisiana Purchase

Cavalcade of America was a show broadcasted on the radio from 1935 to 1953. The show was sponsored by the DuPont Company. The episode that I listened to was "The Louisiana Purchase" which aired on February 16, 1938. The show discusses the years leading up to the United States' purchase of the Louisiana territory in 1803.

The show began with a man talking about the Louisiana Purchase, including an announcement of the DuPont sponsorship of the show. The DuPont pledge of "better things for better living through chemistry" was used when discussing how research chemists contributed to the development of this country's natural resources, thus creating comforts and conveniences in people's everyday lives.

The show was comprised of an announcer talking to the audience about the history of the Louisiana Purchase. The announcer would set up the re-enactment by giving the audience some history information about what was going to be presented. The re-enactments were used to convey this information by using entertainment. It would have been boring to listen to just the announcer talking about the Louisiana Purchase. The re-enactments provided a little more interest into what was being discussed. The re-enactments consisted of a French envoy talking to the King of Spain, two Americans talking on the Mississippi River, President Thomas Jefferson talking to his Secretary of State James Madison, a diplomat talking to his son, and Napoleon talking to his advisors.

The show's combination of history and entertainment made it very informative and easy to listen to. The audience that would have been listening to this show in the 1930s would have walked away with a general knowledge of the Louisiana Purchase and its significance to the United States. The show was definitely pro-American and really emphasized the importance of this purchase to American history. It was said that this expansion transformed the United States "from a small seaboard country to one of the great nations of the world." Hearing the United States being called "one of the great nations of the world" sparks a patriotic feeling in its listeners, something that would have been advantageous during the 1930s.

DuPont really stressed their sponsorship with advertisements at the beginning and the end of the show. The show ended with a small segment about oil and how DuPont helps in this industry. The slogan "better things for better living through chemistry" is stressed again. It makes listeners believe that DuPont is responsible for their living style.

If I used this episode in my classroom, I would begin with it to give an overview to my students about the Louisiana Purchase. We can then discuss how accurate the show is, whether it is biased, leaves important things out etc.