Mahmoud,
What are you arguing here? Who do you think burned down the museum? Why? What evidence from the museum leads you to believe this? D
-James

Journal 3
P.T. Barnum
History 120

Mahmoud Lababidi



When P.T. Barnum was running his museum he knew that he was disliked by a variety of different people. Though many people came to his museum to publicize it as the greatest american showcase during the time, enough people disliked him him because of his political standpoints. The Museum not only burned at one time, but burned after the second opening in a nearby location. Even his house, which he named Iranistan, was burned down in 1848.

Barnum was disliked by Copperheads, northerners that sympathized for the south, along with Abolitionists. The Copperheads disliked Barnum primarly for his support of the Union. Barnum was a slave-trader turned abolishonist(1) which obviously angered many Confederates. Of course they were some of the many people joyous of the firey occasions. Abolitionists didn't like Barnum do to his racial segregation. Barnum would not allow colored people into his museum unless for special sercumstance. He pulicized in a newspaper a special screening for blacks for only one day. This was the only recorded time he let blacks in before 1960.(2)

1 http://www.firstuucolumbus.org/sermons/mb20000206.htm

2 http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/lm/117/




Home

Any suggestions, comments? Email me at mlababid@gmu.edu