Focus Questions What led to the cattle boom? What was life like for cowboys? What caused the decline of the Cattle Kingdom?

The Cattle Boom The Spanish cattle mixed with English breeds and created the Texas longhorn The animals needed very little water and could survive harsh weather and were more suitable for the environment After the Civil War the demand for beef increased in the East Joseph McCoy came up with an idea to hold cattle in pins and ship them by railroad to the East Ranchers began taking their cattle north to sell Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Montana became known as the Cattle kingdom and the herds roamed the open range

The Ranches Elizabeth Collins became known as the Cattle Queen of Montana She was one of the many ranchers who became wealthy during the cattle boom Many ranchers concentrated on buying range rights (water rights to ponds and rivers)

The Cowboys Cowboys were the ones who took care of the ranchers’ cattle and they borrowed many of their techniques from Mexican vaqueros The vaqueros gave the cowboys lassos, chaps and the western saddle Many cowboys were Mexican Americans or African Americans (Nat Love was a famous African American) Some women worked along side the men Gathering cattle together was known as a round-up (this when branding was done)

Cattle Drives and Cattle Towns The Cattle Drive (moving the cattle north over several months) was the most important and dangerous duties The Chisholm Trail was one of the most popular cattle drives (blazed by Jesse Chisholm in the late 1860s and ran from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas) Cowboys had to stand watch during the night to make sure cattle were not spooked and had to track them down if they were Large cattle towns like Dodge City or Abilene lay at the end of the trail and small businesses sprang up to accomodate their needs Towns became dependent on tired cowboys spending money in their towns In cattle towns, disorderly behavior was common Law men like Wyatt Earp became famous in these towns

The End of the Open Range Refrigerator railroad cars (early 1880s) made it possible to carry meat from packing plants to the east In 1874 Joseph Glidden patented barbed wire which allowed westerners to fence off large areas of land at a low cost Range wars between large and small ranchers and farmers (Billy the Kid was part of a range war) By the 1880s 7.5 million cattle roamed the Great Plains but because of low prices, harsh weather and great competition brought an end to the reign of the Cattle Kingdom

Focus Questions What led to the cattle boom? What was life like for cowboys? What caused the decline of the Cattle Kingdom?

Focus Questions What groups settled the Great Plains, and what were their reasons for moving there? How did the environment of the Great Plains affect settlers’ farming methods? What was life on the Great Plains like for settlers, and how did they adapt to the conditions?

New Lands for Settlement The Homestead Act gave 160 acres of land to anyone who would live on it for five years and farm the land The Morrill Act gave federal land to states that would use it build agriculture and engineering schools (Texas A&M) In Oklahoma, Seminole land was offered to homesteaders (11 million acres of Indian land was given to settlers)

Settling the Plains Many farmers moved because farm land where they were from was too expensive Exodusters were southern African Americans who moved to the plains for new land Many were share croppers from the south Western homesteads were attractive to immigrants (Germans, Dutch, Swedes, and others) Mennonites (Russian Protestant Religious group) were the first to begin large-scale farming on the Plains

Farming on the Plains Plains settlers encountered a climate that was extremely difficult Midwest farmers were nicknamed sodbusters because they broke up the thick root-filled sod Farmers in the 1890s starting using dry farming techniques which left some land unused and shifted from corn to red wheat which needed less water Cyrus McCormick made his fortune designing, building and selling farm equipment As farming technology improved the Great Plains became known as the breadbasket of the world

Daily Life on the Plains Many people built their homes of bricks made from sod (very little wood available) Settlers had to make and mend their own clothes Farmers had to build their own farm buildings and repair their own machinery Farm families were often large and everyone had a chore

Communities on the Great Plains Farmers formed communities so that they could assist one another in times of need The first think the pioneer communities did was establish a local church and a school Pioneer schools were small one-room buildings Many children only went to school part of the time and spent the rest of the year helping on the farm The efforts of these communities helped make the west more appealing to raise a family

Focus Questions What groups settled the Great Plains, and what were their reasons for moving there? How did the environment of the Great Plains affect settlers’ farming methods? What was life on the Great Plains like for settlers, and how did they adapt to the conditions?