| “A Riot of Ecstasy: The Traveling Circus in Georgia, 1820–1930” traces the evolution of the circus in the state of Georgia from its antebellum beginnings to its rise to national popular supremacy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before the Civil War, northern showmen took their wagon shows into the South, playing not only in southern towns, but also in the southern backcountry. Consequently, the circus was the only popular entertainment that rural southerners saw with any frequency. After the Civil War, showmen discovered that many former Confederates associated their traveling concerns with Union victory. As a result, these southerners frequently attacked circus workers and performers on show lots. In response, circus owners presented a “southern” image while in Dixie during Reconstruction.; Showmen also sought to address the concerns of evangelicals, respectable women, and middle-class southerners who disliked circuses. They did so by emphasizing the edifying and religious aspects of their shows in their advertising. The economic impact of traveling shows, particularly the ability of circus performances to spur consumer spending at local businesses on “Circus Day,” also acted to erode hostility to circuses. By the late nineteenth century, “Circus Day” had become a community-wide celebration that extended from the streets to the inside of show tents. Circuses now toured by rail, and the coming of a leading show invariably prompted thousands of people of all ages, classes, and colors to travel to the performance location. On “Circus Day,” southern circus goers behaved in a boisterous and uninhibited fashion, even as northern entertainment patrons had begun to behave in a more “disciplined” and sedate manner.; By the early twentieth century, showmen faced new opposition from politicians who objected to their shows not for the entertainment they provided, but rather because street parades disrupted automobile traffic and damaged paved streets. Consequently, circuses eliminated their free street parades, limiting Circus Day's entertainment to the performances that took place inside their show tents. This narrowing of Circus Day's broader entertainment context reduced the popular excitement surrounding the unofficial holiday and accordingly, the national popularity of the genre. |
