Historical Pageants
1910-1916

The historical pageantry movement responded to the rapid social, economic, and technological changes taking place in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. The pageants became a popular way of coping with the changing times by glorifying the past. Beginning in England as an outgrowth of the Arts and Crafts Movement, pageantry reached back to preindustrial days and the cultural influence of old England as a reaction against industrialization and immigration. Pageants produced community cohesion by educating the increasingly diverse local residents about the history of their towns with an emphasis on the triumphs of Colonial English settlers. Community members were recruited to act out scenes from their town's past, often under the direction of a professional pageant director. These plays were designed to transmit traditional American values and ideals in an engaging way. Historical pageants served as an Americanizing force by being both popular entertainment and a means of education that could remold the collective identity in times of change. Residents of Deerfield, Massachusetts, produced pageants in 1910, 1913, and 1916.