This text charts the development of the modern zoo in the 19th century, looking at the transition from elaborate manageries for exclusive patrons to public facilities expressing the power and might of nations, and finally to institutions dedicated to public education and biological research.

It examines the establishment of the first public zoos in the US between 1830 and 1880, and looks at the founding of the National Zoological Park, the first zoo created to preserve endangered species.

The text begins with an overview of the history of menageries in antiquity, and their development in Europe and the US.

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