The Horatio Alger question

Gradually I learned that why is the bottom line in America.That little word can be one of the most powerfully destructive or constructive words in any language. It is the Horatio Alger question that built this country and tore down the Berlin Wall. Thirty years of the cold war didn't do that. It was the word why. The Soviet Union disintegrated when the Russian republics began asking, "Why should we take our orders from Moscow?"

Hi, could anyone answer the following questions?

1. What does "the Horatio Alger" question about? Is that about "why"?

2. Is "Horatio" an English name?

3. Is "why " really the bottom line for Americans?

Thanks!