Flying acrobats, trained animals, strange oddities: all attributes of an astounding circus, yet where did these acts begin and what dark truths hide behind the breathtaking circus acts?
Phineas Taylor Barnum spent his life remaking himself from a poor country boy into the city’s showman (Mansky). After moving to New York City, P.T. Barnum successfully opened the Barnum American Museum (“P.T. Barnum Biography”). He worked during a time where blue laws were prominent in the United States, regulating the ways people could provide entertainment to others. Despite the tight restrictions, he still found a way to amuse the public eye (Mangan). His knack of finding curiosities, authentic or fabricated, expanded his fortune (Wallace). However, hidden by his fame was a dark side more shocking than his shows (Manger). …show more content…
Years following the book release were spent attempting to control and clean up the mess he made (Mangan).
Not only did Barnum deceive the audience, he was also responsible for the myth that elephant’s thick skin prevents them from feeling pain. Barnum created a tradition of animal cruelty that still exists. When he transported nine elephants from Sri Lanka, they were kept from fresh air and without space to walk. Downing a keg of beer, being brutally assaulted with burning rods to their trunks, and being led by a bullhook were a few of the elephants torturous activities (Manger).
Beluga Whales were caught in the mayhem by the twos. Two died after living in a tank of water filled with artificial salt, another two only lasted two days, and the next two were used as a marketing ploy. “As it is very doubtful whether these wonderful creatures can be kept alive more than a few days, the public will see the importance of seizing the first moment to see them.”
Phineas Taylor Barnum spent his life remaking himself from a poor country boy into the city’s showman (Mansky). After moving to New York City, P.T. Barnum successfully opened the Barnum American Museum (“P.T. Barnum Biography”). He worked during a time where blue laws were prominent in the United States, regulating the ways people could provide entertainment to others. Despite the tight restrictions, he still found a way to amuse the public eye (Mangan). His knack of finding curiosities, authentic or fabricated, expanded his fortune (Wallace). However, hidden by his fame was a dark side more shocking than his shows (Manger). …show more content…
Years following the book release were spent attempting to control and clean up the mess he made (Mangan).
Not only did Barnum deceive the audience, he was also responsible for the myth that elephant’s thick skin prevents them from feeling pain. Barnum created a tradition of animal cruelty that still exists. When he transported nine elephants from Sri Lanka, they were kept from fresh air and without space to walk. Downing a keg of beer, being brutally assaulted with burning rods to their trunks, and being led by a bullhook were a few of the elephants torturous activities (Manger).
Beluga Whales were caught in the mayhem by the twos. Two died after living in a tank of water filled with artificial salt, another two only lasted two days, and the next two were used as a marketing ploy. “As it is very doubtful whether these wonderful creatures can be kept alive more than a few days, the public will see the importance of seizing the first moment to see them.”