The End of the Open Range

1. The End of the Open Range

2. Cattle and Cowboys • Cowboy culture originated in Mexico • Before the Transcontinental Railroad, cattle ranching in the western U.S. wasn’t very lucrative • Cowtowns emerge- towns along rail lines built for the express purpose of trading cattle

3. Cattle and Cowboys • The railroad turned ranching into a major industry in the west • Cowboys were a diverse group (Mexicans, African-Americans, Indians, Civil War veterans, immigrants)

4. Cattle and Cowboys • There were no fences on the Open Range, so cowboys had to “ride the line” to keep their cattle off of other ranches and “round up” their herds, which they could only distinguish by brands • The rules and regulations of the cattle industry were simply agreed upon codes by the ranchers • No real laws to govern the open range

5. The End of the Open Range • In 1873, Joseph Glidden would change the open range forever with his patent for barbed wire • Glidden’s barbed wire was cheap and effective for containing herds

6. The End of the Open Range • Farmers began to crowd the open range with their homesteads • By 1880, conflicts with sheepherders for grazing pastures led to further divisions on the range • As ranches moved closer to the rails, the need for cowboys diminished

7. Range Wars • Over conflicting claims to land and water rights • Ranchers would try to drive off farmers • Farmers would cut ranchers’ fences and try to spook their herds • Cattle ranchers developed racist attitudes toward minority sheepherders to justify violence against them • Sheepherders eventually settled for mountainous regions, leaving the plains to the cattle

8. Impression Text • Revisit your impression text response from the bell work • Rewrite you impression text to more accurately reflect the end of the open range • You must still use all of the words given in the bellwork