BOOSTERISM

BOOSTERISM. The Oxford Dictionary defines boosterism as "the keen promotion of a person, organization, or cause. (1) At many times in its history, Dubuque has been the focus of boosterism. At times, boosterism was in response to positive economic news. More recently, it was used to counteract a bad economic forecast for the future of the city.

During the 1850s, Dubuque experienced a population surge of 300 percent in ten years. Such news caused civic boosters to announce,"Dubuque is certain to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, city in the United States within fifteen years." Even after the growth had slowed, Dubuque was described as "the centre of the richest lead mining region of the world...it is the very garden of the northwest. Railroad construction seemed to prove the claims were well-founded. In 1886 civic promoters boomed:

                       Dubuque is the first, and from its more fortunate
                       position, will continue to be the chief city of
                       the state...From that lake (Michigan) to that
                       river (Mississippi) the system of the through
                       lines will concentrate from the west at Dubuque
                       than at any other point within the borders of
                       Iowa and Minnesota. (2)

Boosterism was harder to find between 1910 and 1940 when the city's population

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Source:

1. "Boosterism," Oxford Dictionary, Online: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/boosterism