The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 26

The Saber
As Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest
Show on Earth carried acrobats,
clowns, sideshow curiosities, and massive
menageries throughout the country
through railways, the American
entertainment industry emerged with
the elephant, notably Jumbo, as its
centerpiece. The elephant remained a
symbol of the traveling circus until the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey
show closed its doors for good in 2017,
148 years later. During Reconstruction,
Americans had a great curiosity for elephants,
animals only found in Asia
and Africa. They were so idolized that
circuses were beginning to be judged
not by the number of trained horses in
the show, but by the number and size of
their elephants. 53 With Jumbo, reportedly
the largest elephant in captivity at
the time, Barnum recognized the market
for such grandiose and awe-inspiring
animals. Barnum was known for his
business prowess and his ability to “sell
nearly anything,” but he knew Americans
wanted to see elephants and was
“rewarded for bringing the largest one
he could find” to be a part of his traveling
show. 54 When Jumbo was killed by
a train car in 1885, Barnum described
him as “the biggest, noblest, most famous,
popular, and valuable of beasts,”
before having parts of Jumbo—including
his skeleton and hide—become part
of his traveling shows. 55
Barnum’s circus and other similar
amusements utilized ongoing
changes in transportation and communication,
while epitomizing the
rhythms of new industry and the rise
of corporate America. 56 From 1884 to
1889, the number of traveling circuses
1