Welcome back to part two of P T Barnum. In the last episode, we talked about his risky bet on Jenny Lind and his friendship. Slash business venture with Tom thumb, we learned that Barnum believes that the novelist profession of all is making people happy, which is hard to argue with. And he also showed us his business savvy by outsmarting the competition that was trying to buy his museum. In this episode, you're going to see how Barnum always seems to find a way to success.
Even in the hardest moments, like when his house burned down and his museums were burned down twice. He'll also talk about his writings on the art of getting money. I'm curious how you describe humbug and how is that different from just outright fraud? Well, that's an excellent question, and I've actually, I wrote a book about this called The Humbugs of the World. . Webster Dr. Webster in his book says that a, a humbug is an imposition under fair pretenses or to deceive or to impose upon.
And I have a, quite a different definition because I believe that the humbugs. That I have created have entertained and given good value. I'm not a pickpocket. Well, for example if a man purchases some property from you, and he realized that he's given you counterfeit bank notes, he's a forger or a counterfeiter. And no, you're not going to call him a humbug. He's a fraud.
. If you're sitting on your rail car or omnibus, and you sit next to a man who seems to be well mannered and well behaved, and at the end of your journey, You realize you are missing your watch and your pocketbook. That person was clearly a pickpocket and a thief. , notwithstanding his fair pretenses he was not called a humbug . But suppose you have two actors that appear as stars at two rival theaters. They're both equally talented, equally pleasing.
One is advertised simply as a tragedian under his proper name, and the other boasts that he's a prince and wears decorations presented by all the pungentants of the world, including the king of the cannibal islands. That Man is a humbug. And that term might never be applied to the other.
But, if that man with the foreign titles and the prince of the cannibal islands was a terrible actor and would get up bogus entertainment, pretends to devote , the proceeds of his efforts to some charitable object without doing so. Then he's a thief. He's a liar. He's a humbug, as Dr. Webster would say or imagine two physicians. And one is they're both educated in the best medical colleges, but, One rides quietly in his in the city visiting patients without noise or clamor.
And the other one is shallowing about in a large coach with music and handbills and placards announcing his wonderful cures. That man's called a quack, a humbug. Not because he cheats or imposes upon the public, he does not. But because as generally understood, humbug consists. In putting on glittering appearances, an outside show, novel expedience, by which to suddenly arrest the public's attention and attract the public eye and ear.
And in that sense, I believe that my work as a showman has been humbug. Everything that I've created every pretense. Or every idea that has attracted the public. Perhaps it's been a little over the top. But I have never not given value. People , are constantly loving the entertainment that they receive Even when I tell them half truths truths that are in fact not true. In our time, we call those alternative facts. That's what we call that.
think that's an excellent turn of phrase and I might start using that. Alternative fact. An alternative reality. Pretty popular in our time. You know, the whole time you were saying that I was, there was a word in my head and you said it right at the end and that was Value.
That's the difference between what you do a pickpocket offers no value, but a person that deceives somebody without injuring them, but maybe add some curiosity to somebody's life, add something interesting that they can enjoy. It actually does add value, even if they're paying for it. Especially if they're paying for it. They've determined the value there by emptying their pocketbook. that's that even makes more And you know, I'll say this. So we were talking about the museum.
, for a while, I needed more people to come in. I had a different problem, and that problem was that they wouldn't leave. People would spend their 25 cents to get in and spend all day in the museum. And I needed them to move along so that we could bring in more people. And so I started to put up signs everywhere that said, To the egress. This way to the egress. Follow this arrow to the egress. And people thought to themselves, Wow, I have never seen an egress. I wonder what an egress could be.
I should follow this. And people would follow it. And they would come to a door. And the door would open. And they would walk out to the outside. And the door would close behind them and lock. And if they wanted to come back, then they needed to pay an additional 25 cents. And And just like that, they found the egress. found the egress. And they Now, some people would say, Oh, you are defrauding those people. But let me tell you, those people did not feel defrauded at all.
In fact, many of them brought a friend back in and said, Hey, you have to go and find the egress. Find the egress. It's the most remarkable thing you've ever seen. , you'll be amazed by what you see when you realize what the egress is. And they would play this practical joke on their friend. And so value was had. And education was had. In this case, education towards vocabulary. And more importantly, we were able to bring more people in. To the wonders and amazements of Barnum's American Museum.
That is what a story. I mean, and I can just, as you were saying that I can just picture myself seeing the, if I didn't know what the word egress meant, I walk over to open the door to see the egress and then think. Barnum got me, you know, and just have a good laugh over it. And then, , if I wanted to go back into the museum to pay another 25 cents, it wasn't the end of the world. And who knows maybe I'll find something better than an egress.
Well, you'll find many, we had many different things. Another example is, we had early on, we created there was a little bit of a fervor about this. I created an entire exhibit based on , a working model of Niagara Falls. And we advertised it as such, a working model of Niagara Falls with real water. And people came in expecting to see an enormous model. But our model of Niagara Falls, was accurate, beautiful, well crafted, was approximately two feet tall.
not quite what they were Not quite what they were expecting. But once again, brought value, and when they realized, ah, with real water, and they saw what we had done, they asked their friends to make sure to go to Barnum's Museum and check out the Niagara Falls model. You'll be amazed. And in doing so, we brought humor and laughter and curiosity all together into one place.
I never would have pictured this, that people would use some of these gimmicks , or humbugs to play jokes on their friends and then get a laugh out of it.
And so I'm guessing that when people would come in and they would see the Niagara Falls, that they would have a laugh and then just go enjoy the rest of the And, yes, they would, and the museum was full of other objects, and we had an aquarium, one of the first aquariums was in the Barnum's American Museum, and we had a whale in the aquarium, an actual whale, approximately 70 feet long and was able to be exhibited in this giant aquarium.
And people were amazed this was the first opportunity for them to see a whale. And many times it was the people's first opportunity to see Curiosities and giraffes. We brought giraffes and elephants and later, all kinds of different animals, almost a menagerie, if you will. Oh, so, so if you had a full size whale inside the building. Yes, it was a large building. And so what happens when the building starts on fire? Cause I understand that the, there was a fire.
What happens to the unfortunately, there had been several fires, and that was one of our greatest concerns during the war between brothers what is now known as the Civil War, several confederate sympathizer took it upon themselves , to show their dislike for the North by trying to burn down my museum. And they succeeded and wasn't an accident. It was it was intentional. And unfortunately, many of those animals and attractions, or most of the people were able to get out.
There were very few human casualties. Many animals died. It was a sad moment. And we I vowed to bring them back, and I brought them back again. And rebuilt the museum bigger and better than before. I almost feel like this is a foolish question, but I then will have a foolish answer. okay. Probably what is your reaction when your life's work is on fire? Well, sadness of course, but this is not something that has not happened to me before. I've had my house burned down twice.
Including my mansion, Iranistan. And you must take it as God's will and go forth and make the best of a bad situation and start again. And that's what I did. When you, because of the size of your collection and the uniqueness of your collection, I feel like the average person doesn't look at a situation and think they could start again. , how do you redo a life of all of these things collected?
But I get the impression that throughout your life, when you've had these impossible obstacles like this, that you have some sort of method of getting past them. Is that I don't know if I have a method as much as a belief in myself and the worthiness of, life. And that things happen for a reason. And when I am beset with tribulations, I shall overcome them. And I've been beset, believe me, with many tribulations. As I think I've mentioned, I've lost fortunes several times over.
I've had several fires. , I had an infant child pass away. My, my own wife passed away. Things happen. But you must make the best of your situation and then endeavor to improve it. That's good advice, because we all have things happen, that's for sure. , I'd like to move on from the museum, and because it's just, all of this is so interesting. Before I do that, I just want to ask, was your biggest humbug this Fiji mermaid? No, we haven't mentioned the Fiji mermaid.
I wouldn't say it was my on bug., I purchased the Fiji Mermaid. I did not have, I did not cause it to be built. I, it was already successfully on display in London, and I saw that there was a great deal of interest in it, , now, I will admit, at this late date that I did a bit of how shall we say, chicanery to ensure that the Fiji Mermaid was.
Firmly planted in the minds of the American public , mostly by writing to newspapers, but by creating handbills and by creating controversy where no controversy might normally exist. And similar to Joyce Heff and the Automaton, I was able to generate interest and excitement. In the Fiji mermaid as a, perhaps a missing genetic link. At the time Charles Darwin was, had just been recently come up with this theory. And this was very much on the the mind of the public.
And we were able to excite them further, but the mermaid was purported at any rate to have been an actual sample of a mermaid found in Fiji by a Japanese sailor and sold again. And it was quite an astonishing attraction and excited the public's mind no end. I had thought that this was something that you had created. And in our time, what we believe is that the Fiji Mermaid was a fish body. And a monkey head and they'd sewed it together.
And I thought that this was something you had put together, but this is something that you had bought. But did you know this was a fraud when you bought it? That was a strong word. I suspected that there, that there was something not 100% accurate about this representation. But yes, as you describe it, a monkey head body as described if it was a construction, it was very cunningly done. And, from outside appearances, one could not say, Ah, here's a stitch.
Ah, here is something phony or false. And we presented it to the public, to the best of our ability. So in your time, are people cutting heads off of goats and sewing lion heads to it? And then trying to sell those to you, knowing that you're looking for these kinds of things, are people trying to sell you fraudulent material, knowing that maybe you'll look the other way. If You're not a hundred percent sure.
Even now, and I've been out of the museum business for 25 years , I receive hundreds of letters per day, many with get rich quick schemes of similar attractions or humbugs. Thank you for those. Or things that, if only I would purchase them, would immediately make me millions. You know, I'm now in the circus business with Mr. Bailey. And I rarely appear anymore, but I did for some time. But , I'm nearly 80 years old. , I've left that life behind. And I'm now, I'm content to sip my tea.
And think my happy thoughts and, and why all a pleasant afternoon away with, this remarkable device. been pleasant for sure. So before you actually got into the circus business though, and you're out of the museum business, you had mentioned you were the the mayor of Bridgeport and I think you were in the Connecticut legislature. I'm wondering if that you feel that the people in politics are as dishonest as the people in entertainment.
I believe that many politicians, not all certainly we can't tar them all with the same brunt, but many politicians are dishonest, and it comes with the territory. Because people expect them to be dishonest. , people expect them to get elected and solve all of the ills of the world where that is impossible. , no person could do that, but somehow a politician is expected to.
And sometimes politicians begin to believe what they're saying and believe that they can and believe their promises and believe that they can eradicate. Man's ills rather than promise and as when I ran in Bridgeport, I promised not to eradicate man's ills, but to try to eradicate and we worked very hard to give people voting rights and to eradicate prostitution. I can't say that we did it. I didn't promise that we would eradicate it. I promised that I would try and I fulfilled that promise.
I gave value as I believe I always have. , some of the positions that you stood for as a politician , had to do with temperance and , alcohol use prostitution that you were maybe something like city water. You were trying to supply water to the Certainly. These seem like a far stretch from what you're doing. I'm surprised that you. First of all, cared about these things. Why water is so important? Why you even think about that?
And I guess when it comes to prostitution, isn't it, would this not be the ultimate form of entertainment for some people? Why are you against that and alcohol? Well, , I wouldn't say I'm against alcohol, but I myself have been a teetotaler for now almost 40 years. I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since I think it was 1850. I was in Albany, New York. On business, and I realized that there were a number of wealthy gentlemen who were drunk.
And I had a vision that should I continue to drink as I was wont to do, that I would enter their numbers. And I did not want to do that. I felt it would be a waste. of my talents, and of my, the usefulness of my life, and so that day we had been to church, and there had been a lecture about pledging for abstinence of alcohol, and I made that pledge the next day, and when I did, my wife Charity wept with joy. Because I feel that she had seen my tendency towards indolence. It's for prostitution.
I believe, and I think that there are many, perhaps even now in your day, there are many that believe that the body is a sacred temple and should not be sold for pleasure and that Sexual Congress is not something that should be done lightly. Yes, certainly people have done it in the past. , I think it is the role of the government to help protect from people's baser instincts.
Do you feel that in that case, that , if a woman wants to, I suppose I would say sell her goods that she should be entitled to that though? This is remarkably close to titillating talk. But let me say that I don't believe a woman or a man should be allowed to sell sexual acts or money. Sexual acts should be, in my opinion, done for love. , but that is the opinion of an older man. I'm , nearly 81 now, and, uh. Perhaps the younger generation has a different idea of libertinism.
And that is for other people to decide, I suppose. The younger generation will always have a different idea. You had mentioned your wife charity. Tell me about your wife. What role did she play in your success or just charity was your first wife. Is that right? Yes, she was my first wife, and we were married for nearly 45 years. She died in the early 1870s. Charity was a proper woman. Who cared for me and loved me tremendously, gave me four daughters and took care of them while I was away.
Often I went to Europe for three years and Charity stood by me during that time period. She was a lovely woman, a God fearing woman. And I often joked to say that without Charity, I was nothing. And later that turned to be true as I was sued for bankruptcy, but fortunately I had put most of my holdings into charity's name. So without her, I truly was nothing. So then you're in politics the circus that is politics. , and then you leave the circus of politics to create the actual circus.
And what was that transition like? Did you bring in some of the people that you dealt with in the past? Is that when you brought Tom Thumb back in? , what happened next? Mr. Bailey in the early 1870s, I was approximately 60 years old. Had asked me to put my name to his circus, and I felt that I could not rightly just give him my name, but I must also give him my expertise, and well I had worked in circuses as a young man, and traveled with circuses. I was not a proper circus man.
I was a showman, however. And I actually became, for a short period of time, an attraction in the show. And at the beginning of the show, I would appear in a gilded chariot, and people would wave and raise my hand, and people would pay to see. Ah, there's Old Barton. Isn't it lovely that he's still at his show? But I came to the circus late in life.
And I believe I can say with some fortitude that I brought a certain panache to the circus In a certain vision of grandeur I brought to the circus this idea of having three rings and not simply one, and I brought to the circus the idea of having the biggest and the brightest and , yes, , we have a side show in the circus. And we fill it with some of the strange and curious artifacts . Some astonishing jugglers, or acrobats, or people from far away lands.
Anything to excite the imagination of the public. And that's where I lent my expertise. Were there when you were looking for entertainers for the circus, and I suppose this could apply to any time in your life, were there things that interested you, acts that interested you, or people that interested you that you were just incredibly surprised that it was, , a flop? Imagine if Jenny Lind, for example, you'd brought her and nobody wanted to listen to her.
Obviously that would have been a terrible financial blow for you. But were there things that you thought were just going to be huge that just ended up being nothing like that It would have been a terrible flop for me if Jenny Lind had not succeeded, yet I would not have regretted. The money that I spent won IOTA, because I believe strongly, , that the noblest art is that of making people happy.
And sometimes those people don't know what will bring them happiness, and it's my skill, my power, my pleasure, my vision, that happiness. Perhaps my calling more than anything else. So , of course, there were people and objects that I thought would succeed and did not. No one has a 100 percent success rate. If they do, they are not risking enough. And what I mean by that is that one should not be afraid of failure. I've failed many times in my life.
I believe it's a Japanese saying, some sort of philosophy which is fall down seven times, get up eight. And in that same way, we must fall down and then arise again. And in that way, we are determined to be successful. You'd mentioned bankruptcy a minute ago. , were you actually bankrupt? Were you close to bankruptcy?
I mean, you said you moved some of the money and your assets over to into charity's name, but , what does that look like for Well, I did not move the money out of some fraudulent idea of hiding the money. But yes, I as someone who has risked a great deal of sums. On my ideas and visions, there have been times when it did not happen, and most of the time it has been not through my own lack of vision, but perhaps I would say that it is my faith in humanity that has gone unfounded.
I think specifically of a manufacturer from New Haven the Jerome's, who created a wonderful product, the Jerome Clocks. And they came to me with a proposition to move to Bridgeport, but they needed a loan. And I had the money, and I invested in their company and gave them that loan, and they promptly absconded with the money.
And That absconsion led like a house of cards to a number of other items failing which I had to declare bankruptcy and my creditors were many and my friends rallied around me and Tom Thumb and Commodore Nuts came to my rescue and And as well, I started to book a lecture, ironically, I suppose, I became quite a a well sought after speaker on the lecture market and my lecture was titled, The Art of Money Getting, which I would say in my lecture, That should really be
called the art of money losing, because I have lost more than I have gotten. but nonetheless you know how to get the money. And so in your lecture, I'm assuming you wouldn't let these people down. What are some of the ideas that you would give somebody about the art of money getting? In my lecture, I spoke mostly, uh, simple truths that perhaps they already knew, but needed to be reminded. And that on whatever level that you are on, that your expenses should not exceed your income.
And for those that are moved by their neighbor and by fear of looking less successful take on expenses that they cannot afford, that will come to bite them. This sounds like, the words of a business person who understands how to run a business. Well,, as I said, I'm a showman, but I'm also a businessman and an entrepreneur, what the French call it in which I have created my own business. And I have many interests, financial and otherwise.
I own land and over the course of the years, many different enterprises. And some have made me great sums of money, and some have not. But through it all, I've had faith in myself. And even in those moments when I've lost my faith and wondered whether or not fortune would smile favorably on me, I've found I found hope. I'll give you an example. In the early 1840s I had just met General Tom Thumb, and I endeavored, I had the idea, to bring him to Europe at a great cost.
Both the cost of engaging the general, and bringing his parents, and a tutor, and the great cost of securing halls, We got to England, and I started to make inquiries as to where we might exhibit. And I had , a man come to me , who owned one of the theatres, and who wanted to buy the rights to display Tom Thumb for ten pounds a week. And I had a moment of despair. What if I can't make this happen.
What if I'm not able to create the same kind of fervor in England that I'm able to create in the United States? Yeah. Perhaps , it will elude me. But I decided that I needed to have faith in myself and I took a deep breath. And I said no to this man. And soon I was able through various methods and using some of the similar techniques of using the newspaper and finding celebrities to speak for my cause we were able to meet with the Queen Victoria.
And Queen Victoria saw us and met Tom Thumb and was quite impressed. And that became the key to our success, and soon, the golden showers flowed. I wonder if going down this same thought of what if this had happened? So as you look back at some of these extraordinary successes, like Jennyland and like Tom Thumb, , if you were to look back at one of those. Experiences. One of those agreements, whatever you want to call them.
And one of them was the tipping point, if that hadn't happened, maybe everything else would, wouldn't have happened. What was the most important of those? Interesting question, and an interesting idea. Tipping point. I assume you mean the point at which the scale tips in your favor. Yes, I definitely mean that. I believe that my tipping point, as you say, was the meeting and befriending Tom Thumb. He was my entrée.
into success in Europe and success beyond, and later became , a very close friend. But as well, a person who I could count on when I was in a lower state. My name was well known, but I think that my work with him cemented my name in the eyes and minds of the American public. , what does that look like? You're at his parents house, you knock on the door and you say, Hey, I want to take your young son away forever. And you know, here's 20 or, I mean, what did that look like?
Well, , I was traveling on business and , my brother ran a hotel in Bridgeport. And so I stopped there to visit him and he knew I was interested in curiosities and attractions. And he told me of a young boy and I asked if he could arrange a visit. And the next day we met, and I was determined to exhibit him. And his parents agreed, and he was a young child at the time, but he agreed, and we came up with a plan. And I named him Tom Thumb.
Who was a famous dwarf of the past and gave him the title General because I felt that it would excite the imagination of the public and dressed him up in a military costume. Later he would impersonate several people, including Cornwall and Napoleon. And George Washington, and so it began, but it started with a friendship more than anything else.
It started with a desire to create something larger than myself , and certainly it would have to be larger than Tom Thumb as everything is but to create something that would amaze, astonish, and entertain audiences of all ages. Is the circus, by the way, very successful right now? It is quite successful. I haven't asked for the box office for today, but it is quite successful.
And it's keeping me in jam, as I think The young folks would say, You had mentioned earlier that you're 80 right now, not quite 81. What are you hoping for next? I mean, what would you like to see happen? Do you just want to continue with the circus? Are you going to get back into politics? Are you in good health? I mean, where are you my health is a little shaky at the present, in fact. I had a little bit of a humbug just yesterday. My health is rather delicate at the moment.
And I'm not quite as fast as I used to be. And so I asked one of the New York papers, if I could read my obituary, and yesterday they printed it. It was quite satisfying really to see the impact that I've had in this short blink of an eye of time that I've been on this earth, and I suppose since you've contacted me from the future, my name has not died out I hope that continues to be true.
But for me, at the present time, I have no immediate plans, but to listen, enjoy my tea, and see What is presented to thee? , believe me, your name is still very relevant in our time. , that's why I was so looking forward to this call to understand what kind of person that you were in your time.
And the thing that fascinates me, and maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but It appears to me that your reputation in the community is not of one that can't be trusted or a humbug or a swindler, even though it seems like you were involved in some things that were questionable.
even though they were for entertainment, it seems like it would be really easy for people to To maybe question when you were telling the truth or , when you weren't, because sometimes you weren't for entertainment's sake and yet it appears that your reputation is sterling and that , you're very respected in your community right now. I mean, is that what you're experiencing? Well, I have my detractors, like everyone, and my critics, like everyone.
I think that you can't become famous, you can't do works without ruffling feathers. And, naturally, some people are are upset about the feathers that I have ruffled. I will say that I believe that the American people, the public, should know. They can see and sense my goodwill towards them, and they know my desire is to entertain them and to make them happy.
And that is what has given me what , you call it a sterling reputation I think would say that it is a brass but be it as it may, it I believe that the public can sense what my intentions are, and they can see not just through my words, but through my actions. What I did to move the public along to, to help them. many years ago, I started writing my autobiography, . People wanted to know who I was, and I wrote it.
And I updated it because a young man writing an autobiography needs to continue to move it along and not so long ago I put it into the public domain. I don't receive any profit from it. But the profit that I receive from my autobiography is knowing that I have educated and perhaps brought knowledge and entertainment to all who read and who, all who see my work. There is certainly value in all of that. , especially considering that, , the queen, , was interested in meeting with you.
And I heard that you had spent time with Abraham Lincoln. Was that true? . During the heart of the Civil War, we were invited to come to Washington, D. C. And we spoke at a cabinet meeting, myself and Commodore Nutt, who was another of my friends, you know, a little person similar to the General. After the General retired, Commodore Nutt took over. And after Lincoln had invited me we went into the cabinet, and it was a brief moment, but very affable.
And as we were leaving, Lincoln took the hand of Commodore Nutt, and he said, Commodore, permit me to give you a parting word of advice. When you're in command of your fleet, if you find yourself in danger of being taken prisoner, I advise you to wade ashore. The whole room laughed, except for the Commodore. And he slowly looked the president up, and he looked the president down, and he said, Well, I guess, Mr. President, you could wade better than I could.
I was going to ask you if Commodore Nutt had maybe given Ulysses S. Grant some advice, but it went the other direction straight from it went the other direction, correct, , but the whole room, including Mr. Lincoln himself , were quite amused. Oh, that's fantastic. All right. This is my real last question. Unless another one comes up. . This is my real last answer, unless I have another one. Okay, perfect. If you couldn't have been an entertainer, what would you have done?
Oh, I have the vanity to think that if my good fortune had directed me to that profession, I should have made a very fair lawyer. But truthfully, being a showman is the thing that was in my blood, and being a business person and a person who could bring happiness and joy to the vast public, there's no greater calling than that. Well, I can tell you this. If I was in your time and I needed a lawyer, I wouldn't care if you had a law degree or not. I'd hire you as my lawyer in a second.
I think that makes a lot of sense. And sir, , I have enjoyed this conversation so much and I'm just so thankful for your time. And I guess I'm just wondering, is there anything else that you'd like to add before we finish? Well, I would like to know which of the businesses that currently exist are still in existence now, because I would like to make several stock purchases. So, if you could tell me the names of some famous companies that have older shall we say uh, provenances.
I would like very much to know if they're still extant in your time. Well, , I absolutely love this question. I should have expected this from you, but I have to be quite honest with you. I feel like without that information, I feel like you already have too fair of an advantage over everybody else. And I would be hesitant to give you that information and change the future. Touché, sir. Touché. But a beautiful question nonetheless, sir, thank you so much for your time.
And I'm wishing you the best in the future. was certainly my pleasure, and perhaps we can discuss purchasing this device because I am certain that I could make quite an interesting exhibition based on it. I'll draw up the paperwork for the next time we speak. Very well, sir. Thank you again. Thank you. So, what do you think was PT, Barnum, a scoundrel or an entertainer? Was he money hungry and would do anything for a dollar?
Or did he spend his life creating value, excitement, mystery, and entertainment for the masses? I understand it's easy to throw him under the bus in our modern cancel culture, but if he was such a bad person, why were his museums and circuses packed with people even long after his death? Why would people pay for his events and then pay again to see them again? If they felt like they were being cheated.
And if he is a scoundrel and only after our money, why did he go into public service and the connecticut legislature. And then serve as mayor of Bridgeport. And if he didn't care about the public, why would he take on public causes? Like. Clean water and ending prostitution and alcohol abuse. And what about his mistake of owning slaves in a time where don't forget lots of people on slaves. Was he not genuine about this being his greatest regret?
Did he not try to make up for it in his political life? When he fought to abolish slavery? And finally, when people say he took advantage of people, this may be true, but he also gave them a family, a profession. And many of them ended up being rich. Can you imagine at this time in history being a woman with a beard or being 24 inches tall and achieving any of this success? No way he gave them opportunities.
Look, we're all entitled to our opinions and it's easy to bash Barnum, but it appears to me that Barnum was a man of the people. He entertained them by adding mystery and curiosity to their lives. He stood up for them when they were unable to stand up for themselves. And he learned from his mistakes and then took action to help those that he had wronged. If you condense Barnum's life and do a soundbite or a newspaper heading. Or a tick tock. It's easy to only see the bad that he has done.
But when you look at the whole picture with an open mind, you have to ask yourself if he was such a bad man, then why was he so loved and respected? And why are they making fun musicals about him more than 120 years later. Thanks for listening. And don't forget that when you tell a friend about the calling history podcast, somewhere in France, a mine will look intently at his audience and yell, surprise. I'm Tony Dean. And until next time I'm history.