ABSTRACT
Nineteenth-century children loved circuses and their captive animals, although many people considered the tent show trade to be adult entertainment. To avoid accusations of immorality, many circus companies specifically claimed that their animal presentations were educational, morally uplifting, and offered children an accessible form of natural history instruction grounded in the ideology of human supremacy on the earth. Meanwhile, the nature of the animal displays of unhealthy or forcefully trained animals, encouraged children and adults to misunderstand animal behavior. As a result, although direct evidence is scant, it is likely that children has subversive or critical ideas about the nature of circus animals and their captivity. In the context of the dual nature of circus entertainment, both ostensibly educational and indulgent of the consumer, this chapter explains when, how, and why children interacted with nineteenth-century circuses and their captive animals. It examines live performances and tie-in products, like books and toys, that contained animals and document the multiple messages children found in them.
