The episode title alludes to the method used by Roman emperors to keep their citizenry satisfied by supplying free "bread and circuses."
Ringling Brothers' Circus was founded in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers born in Iowa from an immigrant German father and French mother. They toured the Midwest in animal pulled wagons until getting their own train. In 1907 they purchased both the Bailey and Barnum Circuses and ran them as separate entities. Ultimately the three circuses merged into Ringling Brothers, Barnum, and Bailey Circus, the Greatest Show on Earth, in 1919.
This episode takes place in 1897.