“The Greatest Showman on Earth”Presentation created by Robert L. MartinezPrimary Source: The Story of US by Joy Hakim

• A man took a brick from a spot near P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, walked a

block with it, exchanged it for an identical brick, did the same thing with that brick,

and another…

…. until he carried a brick through the door of Barnum’s American Museum.

• Now what’s coming may seem strange to you, but it is true. People who saw the

incident became curious, so they followed the strange man to see where he was

going to put the brick.

• Usually a big crowd followed him. When they got to the museum they had to pay

admission to get in, and they did.

• When they got inside the museum they realized they had been fooled; that P.T. Barnum had outwitted them and made them enter his museum with his “brick trick.”

• But, instead of being angry most of them laughed. Barnum called himself “the Prince of Humbug,” and a humbug is a hoax or an imposter.

P.T. Barnum admitted that hebecame famous fooling people.No one seemed to mind, Barnum was probably the mostsuccessful showman America has ever had.

• In his American Museum were: a collection of stuffed animals, paintings, a family of

“trained” fleas, musicians, a “real” mermaid, and assorted oddities.

P.T. Barnum and Tom Thumb

• There weren’t many museums in those days, and most of Barnum’s exhibits were

special, but there was also much tomfoolery (tricks, fakes.)

Museum Guidebook

• One door was marked To the Egress. Well, most people had no idea what an

egress was so they went through that door thinking they would find a strange animal

or who-knows-what.

• Egress is another word for exit. Once they were through the door they were outside and had to pay to get back in again, and they did.

• P.T. Barnum had a knack for fooling people and for taking their money. He fit

right in with the times.

• It was a time when some big businessmen, called “robber barons,” acted as if they owned the country, and they practically did.

• It was also a time when some people, called reformers, tried to make the country

better, and did a pretty good job of that.

Child Labor

• Since most Americans couldn’t get to New York to the American Museum, Barnum

took his showmanship and laughter around the country.

• He built a circus, the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He called it “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

• The word circus comes from the Latin word for “round.” Romans had circuses. So did the Egyptians, way back, more than 4,000 years ago. But it wasn’t until 1770, in London, that there was a modern circus, with a ring and horseback acts and clowns.

• P.T. Barnum made circuses bigger and better. He introduced three rings, and he built a circus so large that 20,000 people

could sit under one big tent. Then he took his circus out to towns across America.

• It was luck for Barnum, that railroads were beginning to cross the land. Barnum used

trains to transport his show. It took 60 railroad cars to carry the whole circus.

• The railroads ran special trains to bring spectators to the circus towns. Today, the Ringling Bros. circus continues to travel

by train.

• America was still mostly farms then, and, of course, there was no radio or

television. So you can see that when the circus came it was the biggest event of

the year, especially for children.

• The circus would unload at the railroad tracks and march through town in a big

parade.

• Barnum’s circus added a word to the English language. Do you ever say

something is “jumbo sized” when you mean it is large?

Jumbo Jet or French Fries ?

• The star of Barnum’s circus was an elephant whose name was Mumbo

Jumbo, but everyone called him Jumbo. Jumbo was said to be the largest

elephant in captivity.

• There was a serious side to Barnum. He became a congressman and was a

strong supporter of equal rights and of the 14th Amendment.

• And he fought for prohibition, which means he tried to outlaw the sale of

liquor.

• Phineas Taylor Barnum fit the age in which he lived. He combined its

extremes, an obsession with money and a desire to do good.

The Circus is as popular as ever.

• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey celebrity and family friend, Bello with

my daughter Austin.

Are you ready to run away to work for the circus ?

My daughter Austin Renee.