Circus Life: Performing and Laboring Under America’s Big Top Shows, 1830-1920

This accessible study reviews the history of circus workers and circus owners in the context of the rapid industrialization in the US after the Civil War. The book focuses on business practices of traveling circus shows, especially the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses. It simultaneously looks at circus employees in the larger context of the history of US workers, and places circus owners in the context of the history of corporate America, demonstrating that the circus was a modern workplace impacted by the same factors that affected other industries during the period, such as the growth of railroads and monopolies. Working conditions for both performers and laborers are chronicled, with discussion of factors such as class divisions, lack of insurance, lack of unions, low pay, and no legal rights or recourse for injured or unpaid workers. One chapter is devoted to black men and white women as circus employees. B&w historical photos and illustrations are included. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)