Just What Was/Is Chautauqua?

ALL ABOARD!

This last week I attended a lecture on the Chautauqua Movement with author James Craft, who is retired, but whose passion for history and historical education has called him to various projects throughout time.

I once wrote an article on a character actress who was involved with Chautauqua.  I was curious about what exactly that was.  The following is an exerpt from my article to answer my query:

"The 19th century brought traveling minstrel and vaudeville acts via the LYCEUM Movement to outlying districts, providing live entertainment for small towns and rural areas. The Lyceum programs also featured live speakers and debates to keep the public informed on social and political issues. Lyceum was entertainment on a small scale with one night stands. It was the precursor to what would become the CHAUTAUQUA Movement; whch featured multiple acts for one week engagements. With the Civil War over, the demand for these vaudeville and minstrel shows was on the rise. The Chautauqua, a Seneca Indian word translated as "two moccasins fastened together", or "a bag tied in the middle", was named after the lake in New York where Sunday school teachers were trained. As the Movement spread, regions or circuits were formed. Their focus broadened to include general education lectures on social and religious issues, much like the Lyceum. Entertainers were booked to sing spirituals, popular songs, and ballads. Ventriloquists and comedians were also among the Chautaqua.  Many well known actors got their start in Vaudeville such as James Cagney, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Al Jolson, and Kate Smith to name a few."

This photo shows a stretch of land that appears to almost tie the two sections of the lake together.

The origin of the Movement was explained by a Dr. W.S. Currell in an article that appeared in The Tennessean, Nashville, August 7, 1900, p.5:

"It began with a Methodist camp meeting on the shore of Lake Chautauqua in 1873.  The next year it was formed into a Sunday - School Normal.  Today it is a far-reaching power with fifty circles in the United States with over a quarter of a million readers." 

The minister was John Vincent, who partnered with businessman Lewis Miller to organize that summer training of Sunday school teachers.  Unlike other religious camps of the day, Chautauqua combined daily study with healthy recreation.  To this day, their institution still stands at Chautauqua Lake.

REV. JOHN HEYL VINCENT

LEWIS MILLER

Chautauqua has its basis on what are called the Four Pillars - Religion, Education, Arts, and Recreation.  Founded as a gathering place for Sunday School teachers, the Movement now includes most Protestant denominations, along with Catholic and Jewish faiths that provide programs and lodging.  Classes range from arts and crafts, language, investment, to fitness.  They have their own symphony orchestra, ballet, music festivals, and family entertainment series. Finally, the recreation pillar has fitness centers, golf courses, tennis courts and scenic surroundings for water sports.
While the origin of these gatherings and trainings was in New York, the movement sought to expand to all the borders of our nation.  The meetings included BIble study, lecturers, entertainers, and later on vaudevillians and actors.  Each circuit or region had its own magazine with articles on current social issues.  Chautauqua provided the first correspondence course and spearheaded what we now know as adult education in the form of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.  This brought to middle class working people the ability to have something similar to junior/community college education. Many libraries, museums, and educational institutions have the Movement to thank for their existence.

Because the Chautauqua performers and speakers were part of a traveling show, they were able to reach out to those in remote regions who didn't have the benefit of newspapers or magazines. Instead of area residents being restricted to happenings in their local community, the Chautauqua brought the region, country, and world to each town they visited. As The Evening Index, Greenwood, South Caroline stated in its Oct. 4, 1900, p. 5 issue:

"Chautauqua gives to every-day people the opportunity to enjoy the advantages of an education beyond that furnished by the common schools and brings the facilities for self-culture to the family fireside."

ILLUSTRATION -KANSAS CITY GLOBE, MAY 27, 1914, p.2

OLATHE REGISTER, KANSAS

After 1900 the movement became more of the "Circuit Chautauqua".  Scheduling and budgeting for the speakers and entertainers became difficult for the individual chautauquas so they contracted with the Lyceum, a sort of booking agency.  Not only did Lyceum bring in political figures; they brought college professors and vaudeville actors for entertainment.

THE OLATHE REGISTER, OLATHE, KANSAS, JUNE 11, 1914, p.7

Things changed by the 1930s.  The automobile enaabled people to travel well beyond their 5- 6 miles they had gone previously by horse and buggy.  During the 1920s silent films were being made in Hollywood and distributed across the country so folks traveled by car to the cinema.  Radio became a staple of entertainment during the 1930s like The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Lux Radio Theatre, and Red Skelton.  And with the Great Depression, there were no financial resources to continue.

Today the Chautauqua is experiencing a rebirth.  The communities in existence are thriving and some from the past are starting up again.  Lifelong learning keeps people vibrant and happy.  Continuing education and the desire for more knowledge keeps Chautauqua alive and well.

Sources: https://www.enotes.com/research-starters/chautauqua-movement
https://https://www.chautauquatrail.com/www.chautauqua.com/about-us/history/chautauqua-movement-history/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveodland/2012/07/09/the-magic-of-chautauqua/#2eee1d2d58e6