Alaskan Hype: The Lure Of The Klondike Gold Rush

Klondike Cough Drops: 5 cents. 

During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, Americans had a lot on their minds. It wasn't necessarily the lure of the North that was the most pressing concern. This was the time of the Spanish-American War, and in history books, you'll find that the war actually turned out to the more significant, at least historically, than the simultaneous Gold Rush.

For people in most of the U.S., "Klondike" was not a regional name for a place in Canada. It was, instead, a general, northern symbol of hope, vast wealth, happiness, success...  For them, "Klondike" included Alaska, too. The whole idea of the Klondike had all the reckless, frothy attraction of a Power Ball lottery. Emotionally, it was Annie Oakley, the California Gold Rush, and Westward-Ho the Wagons all rolled into one, in the minds of small-town and city dwellers all over America. This poster is on display at the Fairbanks Community Museum in Downtown Fairbanks.