Creating a Modern Countryside

Download or read book Creating a Modern Countryside written by James Murton and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1900s, British Columbia embarked on a brief but intense effort to manufacture a modern countryside. The government wished to reward Great War veterans with new lives: settlers would benefit from living in a rural community, considered a more healthy and moral alternative to urban life. But the fundamental reason for the land resettlement project was the rise of progressive or “new liberal” thinking, as reformers advocated an expanded role for the state in guaranteeing the prosperity and economic security of its citizens. James Murton examines how this process unfolded, and demonstrates how the human-environment relationship of the early twentieth century shaped the province as it is today.