Making His Way

Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile novels about impoverished boys who struggle to escape poverty through hard work, clean living, and pluck. Scholar John Geck of the University of Rochester notes that "the Horatio Alger plot was viewed from the perspective of the Progressive movement as a staunch defense of laissez-faire capitalism, yet at the same time criticizing the cutthroat business techniques and offering hope to a suffering young generation during the Great Depression."