Why is it called Chautauqua?
“Chautauqua” is a Native American (Iroquois) word meaning “a bag tied in the middle” or “two moccasins tied together.” The lake on which the original Chautauqua (Chautauqua Institution) was located in western New York is shaped this way and so provided the named to the movement. So there you go.
What is the Chautauqua Institution?
The Chautauqua Institution still thrives in Chautauqua, New York. Teddy Roosevelt once called the traveling Chautauquas “the most American thing in America”. This form of live entertainment faded with the growing popularity of radio and motion pictures. The Chautauqua Movement was the largest event that has ever existed in the US or Canada.
Where is Chautauqua Lake located?
Chautauqua Lake, located in Chautauqua County New York, sits high at an elevation of over 1306 feet mean sea level (msl). It has been a popular resort area for Northerners since the end of the Civil War. The word "Chautauqua" probably came from the naming of the lake.
What is a Chautauqua brochure?
Cover of a 1917 promotional brochure. Chautauqua (/ʃəˈtɔːkwə/ shə-TAW-kwə) was 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.
Is Chautauqua an Indian name?
The Word “Chautauqua” The word, Chautauqua, comes from the Iroquois tribe. It has two different meanings, either “a bag tied together” or “two moccasins tied together.” Both definitions aptly describe the shape of Chautauqua Lake in western New York, where the name Chautauqua was first used.
What is Chautauqua known for?
Chautauqua (/ʃəˈtɔːkwə/ shə-TAW-kwə) was an adult education and social 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.
What are the 4 pillars of Chautauqua?
At Lakeside, our summer season offers daily programming in all four Chautauqua pillars: recreation, education, arts and entertainment, and religion.
Does Chautauqua still exist?
Chautauqua Today Existing Chautauqua communities are thriving and some from the past are being resurrected.
Who started the Chautauqua movement?
In 1874, two Methodists, philanthropist Lewis Miller and minister John Heyl Vincent, founded the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, an academic resort and educational experiment intended to train Sunday school teachers and church workers.
What was the general goal of the Chautauqua movement?
The Chautauqua Movement sought to bring learning, culture and, later, entertainment to the small towns and villages of America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
What does word Chautauqua mean?
“Chautauqua” is an Iroquois word with multiple meanings, including “a bag tied in the middle” or “two moccasins tied together.” The word describes the shape of Chautauqua Lake, located in southwest New York, which was the setting for the Chautauqua Institution, the first educational assembly in what became a ...
What is a Chautauqua performance?
What, exactly, is a Chautauqua? ◦ Chautauqua is a living history program in which performers, in costume and in character, bring historical figures to life in theatrical monologues.
Is Chautauqua Institution religious?
Chautauqua provides a wide variety of services of worship and programs that express the Institution's Christian heritage as well as its interfaith commitment.
How do you pronounce Chautauqua NY?
0:060:55How to Pronounce Chautauqua (Real Life Examples!) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipVaudeville some burlesque the chautauqua circuit all these things around the turn of the century.MoreVaudeville some burlesque the chautauqua circuit all these things around the turn of the century.
When was the Chautauqua movement born?
1874The Birth of the Chautauqua The Chautauqua was born in 1874 when John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller first purchased the land of an old Methodist revival camp to use to educate Sunday school teachers during the summer.
How many chautauquas are left?
Current Community Locations Today, the nearly 20 remaining Chautauquas are scattered from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Ridgway, Colorado. The Chautauqua Trail is a nonprofit organization that seeks to keep these communities strong and thriving.
Who goes to Chautauqua Institution?
The Chautauqua Institution has been visited by political figures, celebrities, artists, musicians, scientists, and writers. Since its founding in 1874, the Institution has been visited by four sitting United States presidents including Ulysses S.
What happened at Chautauqua Institute?
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Visitors expecting a dazzling lecture from author Salman Rushdie on Friday at the Chautauqua Institution were instead left horrified when a knife-wielding man rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie multiple times.
What is a Chautauqua performance?
What, exactly, is a Chautauqua? ◦ Chautauqua is a living history program in which performers, in costume and in character, bring historical figures to life in theatrical monologues.
What does Chautauqua mean in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?
Most people wonder where the term “Chautauqua” came from. Actually, it originates, at least for us, in the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig. He uses the word to describe his inquiry into the notion of quality and the best way to visualize the world.
What were the mainstays of Chautauqua?
Lectures were the mainstay of the Chautauqua. Prior to 1917, lectures dominated the circuit Chautauqua programs. The reform speech and the inspirational talk were the two main types of lecture until 1913. Later topics included current events, travel and stories, often with a comedic twist.
What was the Chautauqua movement?
Although the Chautauqua movement was founded by Methodists, nondenominationalism was a Chautauqua principle from the beginning, and prominent Catholics like Catherine Doherty took part. In 1892, Lutheran Church theologian Theodore Emanuel Schmauk was one of the organizers of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua.
What was Chautauqua's political reform?
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.
What was the religious movement in Chautauqua?
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. 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 and competed with vaudeville in theaters and circus tent shows with their animal acts and trapeze acrobats.
Where were Chautauquas built?
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.
What was the goal of the Vaudeville managers at the turn of the 20th century?
At the turn of the 20th century, vaudeville managers began a push for more "refinement", as well as a loosening of Victorian-era morals from the Chautauqua side. Over time, as vaudeville became more respectable, Chautauqua became more permissive in what they considered to be acceptable acts. The boundaries between the two began to blur.
What was the purpose of Frankenstein's tent circuit?
That purpose, bluntly, was to 'make a million'.
What does "chautauqua" mean?
Chautauqua is an Iroquois word meaning something along the lines of “bag tied in the middle” or “two moccasins tied together.”. It was used to describe a lake in western New York where the Iroquois Confederacy was located.
When does Chautauqua take place?
The chautauqua takes place from August 1st through the 5th, but pre-events begin as early as Monday, July 24th. (See the full schedule of speakers and events here.) Some present day Chautauqua assemblies have kept the spirit of the movement while repackaging them for a contemporary audience.
What was the Chautauqua Institute?
The original institute was often referred to as the Mother Chautauqua and the offshoots were considered her daughters.
When was the Colorado Chautauqua added to the National Register of Historic Places?
In 2006, the Colorado Chautauqua was added to both the State and National Register of Historic Places. The art gallery at the Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder. 1900. (Photo from the Denver Public Library – X11717.)
When was the Colorado Chautauqua?
The auditorium of the Colorado Chautauqua at Boulder. 1902. (Photo from the Denver Public Library – X11721.) The Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder is one of only a few remaining Chautauqua centers in the United States that has been running continuously since the heyday of the movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Who said "He who does not know Chautauqua does not know America"?
Chautauqua is “the most American thing in America.”–. Theodore Roosevelt. “He who does not know Chautauqua does not know America.”. — Frank Bohn. I’ll just come right out and admit it. Until recently, I had no idea what a Chautauqua was. I thought it was probably an old Native American gathering place that is now memorialized with ...
When was the first Chautauqua assembly?
(From Wikipedia .) One of the first Chautauqua Assemblies to take place in Colorado was at Palmer Lake in Glen Park beginning in 1886.
What is Chautauqua Movement?
The term "Chautauqua" has come to be associated with the Chautauqua Movement which grew from the county's own Chautauqua Institution. The Institution began in 1874 as a training camp for Methodist Bible School teachers. Since then, it has grown into an educational and cultural center attracting more than 150,000 visitors during its annual nine-week summer season. The Chautauqua Movement spread across the country and hundreds of traveling or tent "Chautauquas" offered educational opportunities to the public. Many of these exist to this day.
Where did Chautauqua Lake get its name?
Variations of the word "Chautauqua" appear on French maps dating from their early explorations of the area. Legends regarding the meaning of the word are unsubstantiated, but the most often heard interpretation has its origin in Seneca language: "Bag ties in the middle". This name represents the elongated shape of Chautauqua Lake, with the narrow point near the lake's middle (Bemus Point-Stow).
What was the Chautauqua camp?
The camp became known as the Chautauqua Institution and reflected a nation-wide interest in the professionalization of teaching. Vincent and Miller were very clear that their intent was educational, rather than revivalist, and the Chautauqua Institution was never affiliated with any one religious denomination although the sort of mild Protestantism that informed much of American culture also underpinned the Chautauqua Movement. Today, nearly every faith group in the U.S. has a chapel or building on the grounds of the New York Chautauqua.
Why did Chautauquas decline?
One reason was the sharp increase in fundamentalism and evangelical Christianity in the 1920s ; the bland, non-denominationalism exhibited at most chautauquas couldn’t accommodate these impulses. Many small independent chautauquas, however, became essentially camp meetings or church camps. Another seemingly contradictory influence was the rise of the liberated, educated woman. Chautauquas functioned for many lower- and middle-class women much as elite women’s colleges did for upper-class women. They were training grounds from which women could launch “real” careers. When professional and educational opportunities increased, women’s interest in chautauquas dwindled. Finally, the Depression itself made chautauquas economically impossible for organizers and audiences.
What did Teddy Roosevelt say about the Chautauqua Institution?
After visiting the Chautauqua Institution, Teddy Roosevelt noted it was “a source of positive strength and refreshment of mind and body to come to meet a typical American gathering like this – a gathering that is typically American in that it is typical of America at its best.”
Do Chautauquas live a renaissance?
Today, chautauquas are experiencing a small renaissance. People are discovering that lifelong learning is one of the keys to living a happy, fulfilling life. Throughout North America, existing chautauquas are thriving and ones from the past are being resurrected. Learn more about all the living chautauqua communities and assemblies currently in operation at www.chautauquatrail.com.
What is Chautauqua County?
Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in New York. It is significant to this list only because it is home to the Chautauqua Institution. Link to the Chautauqua County Visitors' Bureau, but only when you've decided you're done learning about the other meanings of 'Chautauqua.' (Chautauqua is also a county or city name in many parts of the midwestern and western United States.)
Where is Chautauqua Lake?
Chautauqua Lake, located in Chautauqua County New York , sits high at an elevation of over 1306 feet mean sea level (msl). It has been a popular resort area for Northerners since the end of the Civil War. The word "Chautauqua" probably came from the naming of the lake. It is said that Chautauqua is an American Indian word meaning "a bag tied in the middle" (to describe the shape of the lake) or "two moccasins tied together." I have also heard that some believe the word to mean "fish came from here," but it is more likely to be one of the first two.
Overview
Chautauqua was an adult education and social 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, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day…
History
In 1873, the first Chautauqua, Lakeside Chautauqua on Ohio's Lake Erie, was formed by the Methodists. The next year, 1874, the New York Chautauqua Assembly, was organized by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller at a campsite on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in the state of New York. Two years earlier, Vincent, editor of the Sunday School Jour…
The Chautauquan
The Chautauquan was a magazine founded in 1880 by Theodore L. Flood First printed in Jamestown, New York, the magazine soon found a home in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where Flood bought a printing shop. It printed articles about Christian history, Sunday school lessons, and lectures from Chautauqua. By the end of the decade the magazine was printing articles by well-known authors of the day (John Pentland Mahaffy, John Burroughs, Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen), an…
Lectures
Lectures were the mainstay of the Chautauqua. Prior to 1917, lectures dominated the circuit Chautauqua programs. The reform speech and the inspirational talk were the two main types of lecture until 1913. Later topics included current events, travel and stories, often with a comedic twist.
The most prolific speaker (often booked in the same venues with three-time presidential candid…
Lectures were the mainstay of the Chautauqua. Prior to 1917, lectures dominated the circuit Chautauqua programs. The reform speech and the inspirational talk were the two main types of lecture until 1913. Later topics included current events, travel and stories, often with a comedic twist.
The most prolific speaker (often booked in the same venues with three-time presidential candid…
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, and prominent Catholics like Catherine Doherty took part. In 1892, Lutheran Church theologian Theodore Emanuel Schmauk was one of the organizers of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua.
Competition with vaudeville
In the 1890s, both Chautauqua and vaudeville were gaining popularity and establishing themselves as important forms of entertainment. While Chautauqua had its roots in Sunday-school and valued morality and education highly, vaudeville grew out of minstrel shows, variety acts, and crude humor, and so the two movements found themselves at odds. Chautauqua was considered wholesome, family entertainment and appealed to middle classes and people who considered th…
Music
Music was important to Chautauqua, with band music in particular demand. John Philip 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-Ameri…
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.