American Experience · SEASON 4

Barnum's Big Top

Episode 12 · 1991-10-14

★ N/A
← Previous episode All seasons Next episode →
American Experience poster
Season 4Episode 12★ N/A/10
  • Documentary

Episode overview

P.T. Barnum was huckster, con man, promoter and entertainer. His American Museum featured ancient relics side by side with such "living curiosities" as lions, snakes, bearded ladies and Siamese twins. In 1871 he took the whole show on the road; it traveled by rail. Barnum introduced the idea of three rings, and his "Jumbo the Elephant" added a new word to the English language. By the time he teamed up with James Bailey, his circus had become "The Greatest Show on Earth."

55 minutes

Season 4 episodes

1. LBJ (1)1991-09-30 2. LBJ (2)1991-09-30 3. The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry1991-10-07 4. Scandalous Mayor1991-10-28 5. The Johnstown Flood1991-11-04 6. Pearl Harbor: Surprise and Remembrance1991-11-11 7. G-Men: The Rise of J. Edgar Hoover1992-02-24 8. Duke Ellington: Reminiscing in Tempo1991-12-09 9. The Quiz Show Scandal1992-01-06 10. Love in the Cold War1992-01-13 11. Wild by Law1992-02-10 12. Barnum's Big Top1991-10-14 13. In the White Man's Image1992-02-17