The American Trail was a thirteen episode series of stories of turning points in the history of the creation and growth of the United States, sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The show aired at 9:45am on school days with the hope that teachers would allow the children to listen to the stories, with the teacher discussing the episode after it was finished. President Dwight D. Eisenhower added words of encouragement at the end of the final episode. Many famous actors took part in the series, but were not credited. It is known that in addition to President Eisenhower speaking in episode 13, General James H. Doolitle speaks in episode 12, and Bing Crosby along with his son Lindsey took part in episode 9, The California Gold Rush.