Alaska in the Progressive Age - Thomas Alton - Bog

Please give a 200- to 300-word description of your book. The growth of modern-day Alaska began with the Klondike gold discovery in 1896. Over the course of the next two decades, as prospectors, pioneers, and settlers rushed in, Alaska developed its agricultural and mineral resources, birthed a structure of highway and railroad transportation, and founded the cities we know today. All this activity occurred within the context of the Progressive Age in American politics. It was a time of reform as Progressive politicians took on the powerful business trusts and enacted sweeping reforms to protect workers and consumers. As the population of Alaska grew, Congress responded to the needs of the nation's northern possession, giving the territory a delegate to Congress, a locally elected legislature, and ultimately in 1914 the federally funded Alaska Railroad. Progressives believed that government could and should be the agent of reform and a force for positive change in people's lives. In the traditional view of Alaska history, Alaska is considered to have been continually neglected and abused by the federal government. I contend, however, that in the years from 1896 to 1916 the territory benefitted richly in the age of Progressive Democracy. > Please give a 100-word description of your book. > Please give a one-sentence description of your book. Alaska benefitted richly in the years from 1896 to 1916, when, coincident with the Progressive Age in American politics, the idea prevailed that government at its best could be an instrument for positive social and economic change in people's lives.