Chautauqua (pronounced ʃəˈtɔkwə) is an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers and specialists of the day.

Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America." For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, Jr. ...

History

The first Chautauqua, the New York Chautauqua Assembly, was organized in 1874 by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller at a campsite on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York State. Two years earlier, Vincent, editor of the Sunday School Journal, had begun to train Sunday school teachers in an outdoor summer school format. The gatherings grew in popularity. The organization founded by Vincent and Miller later became known as the Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... John Heyl Vincent (1832 – 1920) was an American Methodist Episcopal bishop. ... Lewis Miller was an Ohio businessman who made a fortune in the late 19th century as inventor of the first combine (harvester-reaper machine) with the blade mounted efficiently in front of the horse rather than pulled behind it. ... Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... Sunday school, Indians and whites. ... A Summer school is a program, generally sponsored by a school or a school district, that teaches students during the summer vacation. ... The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York. ...

The educational summer camp format proved to be a popular choice for families and was widely copied. Within a decade Chautauqua assemblies (or simply Chautauquas), named for the original location in New York State, sprang up in various locations across North America. The Chautauqua movement may be regarded as a successor to the Lyceum movement earlier in the 19th Century. As the Chautauqua assemblies began to compete for the best performers and lecturers, lyceum bureaus assisted with bookings. The original site in Chautauqua, New York, near Jamestown, has hosted such diverse speakers and performers as Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys and former vice president Al Gore. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The lyceum movement in the United States was a early form of organized adult education based on Aristotles Lyceum in Ancient Greece. ... The lyceum movement in the United States was a early form of organized adult education based on Aristotles Lyceum in Ancient Greece. ... Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. ... Bill Monroe Bill Monroe (September 13, 1911 - September 9, 1996) developed the style of country music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, named for his home state of Kentucky. ... Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. ...

Two Types of Chautauquas

Independent Chautauquas operated at permanent facilities. Such a Chautauqua was generally built in an attractive semi-rural location a short distance outside an established town with good rail service. At the height of the Chautauqua movement in the 1920s, several hundred of these existed, but their numbers have since dwindled. At least three Independent Chautauquas have operated continuously from the 1920s into the 21st century; if Chautauqua is construed to include camp meetings and Sunday School Assemblies, the number is higher. See 21st century Chautauquas. Railway tracks running through a railway station in North East England A railway yard in Portland, Oregon. ... A watercolor painting of a camp meeting circa 1839 (New Bedford Whaling Museum). ... The Chautauqua movement flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then declined. ...

Circuit Chautauquas (or colloquially, Tent Chautauquas) were an itinerant manifestation of the Chautauqua movement. The program would be presented in tents pitched "on a well-drained field near town." After several days, the Chautauqua would fold its tents and move on. The method of organizing a series of touring Chautauquas is attributed to Keith Vawter, a Redpath Lyceum Bureau manager. Circuit Chautauqua began in 1904. In Vawter’s schema, each performer, or group, appeared on a particular day of the program. Thus “first day” talent would move on to other Chautauquas, followed by the “second day” performers, and so on, throughout the touring season. By the mid-1920s when Circuit Chautauquas were at their peak, they appeared in over 10,000 communities to audiences of more than 45 million. By about 1940 the Tent Chautauquas had run their course and disappeared.

The rise and decline of the Chautauqua Movement

The popularity of the Chautauqua movement can be attributed in part to the social and geographic isolation of American farming and ranching communities. People in such areas would naturally be hungry for education, culture and entertainment, and the Chautauqua Movement was a timely response to that need in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. However, by the turn of the century, other entertainment and educational opportunities, such as radio and movies, began to arrive in American towns to compete with Chautauqua lectures. With the advent of television and the automobile, people could now watch or travel to cultural events previously available only in urban areas, and the Chautauqua Movement lost popularity. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... Karl Benzs Velo (vélo means bicycle in French) model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race 2005 MINI Cooper S. An automobile (also motor car or simply car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ...

Lectures

Lectures were the mainstay of the Chautauqua. Topics included current events, travel and stories, often with a comedic twist. William Jennings Bryan, with his populist and evangelical message addressing topics such as temperance, was the most popular Chautauqua speaker, until his death in 1925. Maud Ballington Booth, the "Little Mother of the Prisons," was another popular performer on the circuit. Booth’s descriptions of prison life would move her audiences to tears and rouse them to reform. On a lighter note, author Opie Read's stories and homespun philosophy endeared him to audiences. William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, statesman, and politician. ... A cartoon from Australia ca. ... Maud Elizabeth Charlesworth (September 13, 1865 – August 26, 1948) later changed her name to Maud Ballington Booth, was an Salvation Army leader and co-founder of the Volunteers of America. ... Frontispiece of An Arkansas Planter by Opie Read Opie Percival Read (b. ...

Religious Expression

Christian instruction, preaching and worship were a strong part of the Chautauqua experience. Although the Chautauqua movement was founded by Methodists, nondenominationalism was a Chautauqua principle from the beginning. Early religious expression in Chautauqua was usually of a general nature, comparable to the later Moral Re-Armament movement. Later on, in the first half of the 20th Century, Fundamentalism was the content of an increasing number of Chautauqua sermons and lectures. The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... A non-denominational church (usually Christian) is a religious organization which does not necessarily align its mission and teachings to an established denomination. ... Moral Re-Armament (MRA, or sometimes Buchmanism) is an international movement that was founded as the Oxford Group by Frank N. D. Buchman (a prominent Christian Evangelist from the United States), and a group of Oxford students in the 1920s. ... In comparative religion, fundamentalism has come to refer to several different understandings of religious thought and practice, through literal interpretation of religious texts such as the Bible or the Quran and sometimes also anti-modernist movements in various religions. ...

However, the great number of Chautauquas, as well as the absence of any central authority over them, meant that religious patterns varied greatly among the different Chautauquas. Some were so religiously oriented that they were essentially church camps, while more secular Chautauquas resembled summer school or even vaudeville. Summer camp is a common destination for children and teenagers during the summer months in some countries. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... A Summer school is a program, generally sponsored by a school or a school district, that teaches students during the summer vacation. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 2006, one extreme can be observed in the Lakeside Chautauqua, owned and operated by the Methodist church, while the opposite extreme is represented by The Colorado Chautauqua, which is entirely nondenominational and mostly secular in its orientation. Lakeside is a private community in northern Ohio, United States, on the shores of Lake Erie. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... The Chautauqua Auditorium A view of the Flatirons from Chautauqua Park in Boulder The Colorado Chautauqua, located in Boulder and started in 1898, is the only surviving Chautauqua west of the Mississippi River and one of three remaining in the United States as of 2006. ... A non-denominational church (usually Christian) is a religious organization which does not necessarily align its mission and teachings to an established denomination. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ...

Music

Music was important to Chautauqua. Band music was much in demand. John Phillip Sousa protégé Bohumir Kryl’s Bohemian Band was frequently seen on the circuit. One of the numbers featured by Kryl was the “Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore with four husky timpanists in leather aprons hammering on anvils shooting sparks (enhanced through special effects) across the darkened stage. Spirituals were also popular. White audiences appreciated seeing African-Americans performing other than minstrelsy. Other musical features of the Chautauqua included opera, Jubilee Singers singing a mix of spirituals and popular tunes, and other singers and instrumental groups playing popular music, ballads and songs from the “old country.” In music, a band is a company of musicians, or musical ensemble, usually popular or folk, playing parts of or improvising a musical arrangement on different musical instruments. ... John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 - March 6, 1932), is probably the most famous marching band conductor (although his band rarely marched) and composer in history. ... Bohemians, or gypsies, are inhabitants of Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. ... The rousing and well-known Anvil Chorus (Coro di zingari or gypsy chorus) from Act 2, Scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdis Il Trovatore (The Troubador) (1853) depicts Spanish gypsies striking their anvils at dawn and singing the praises of hard work, good wine, and their gypsy women. ... Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvatore Cammarano, based on the play El Trobador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. ... Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... A spiritual is a African-American song, usually with a religious text. ... The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, is an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in blackface. ... The New Opera in Oslo, Norway The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... The Fisk Jubilee Singers were a group of African American singers in the 1870s. ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ...

Political context

Chautauquas can be viewed in the context of the populist ferment of the late 19th century. Manifestos such as the "Populist Party Platform" voiced a disdain for political corruption and championed the plight of the common people in the face of the rich and powerful. Other favorite political reform topics in Chautauqua lectures included temperance (even prohibition), women's suffrage and child labor laws. A cartoon from Australia ca. ... The term Prohibition, also known as Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... In America at the time of the 1800s some rights allowed to single women were exempt to married women. ... Categories: Stub | United States law | U.S. history of labor relations ...

However, the Chautauqua movement usually avoided taking political stands as such, instead inviting public officials of all the major political parties to lecture, assuring a balanced program for the members of the assembly. For example, during the 1936 season at the Chautauqua Institution, in anticipation of the national election held that year for president, visitors heard not only addresses by Franklin Roosevelt and his Republican challenger Alf Landon, but from two third-party candidates. The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York. ... In any two-party system of politics, a third party is a party other than the two dominant ones. ...

External links

• Chautauqua Institution
• The Great Lecture Library
• Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua

References

• What was Chautauqua? University of Iowa Libraries, accessed: 2006-03-18.
• Galey, Mary (1981): The Grand Assembly: The Story of Life at the Colorado Chautauqua. Boulder, Colorado: First Flatiron Press, ISBN 0-9606706-0-2.
• Pettem, Silvia (1998): Chautauqua Centennial, a Hundred Years of Programs. Longmont, Colorado: The Book Lode, ISBN 1-891274-00-7.
• Rieser, Andrew (2003): The Chautauqua Moment: Protestants, Progressives, and the Culture of Modern Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 0231126425.