1. How did the cattle industry develop between 1865 and 1870?
Starter: Collect your GCSE scaffold from your teacher. Glue it one page of your book. You have 8 minutes to fill it out (four minutes per paragraph)
You may use your homework to help you, or the textbook p.44 to help.

2. What was the ‘long drive’?
The journey from Texas to Kansas took upto 3 months. It was very challenging due to the danger of a stampede.
Stampeding cattle could g et lost, injured or killed.
Travelling such a long distance meant the cows lost weight and would be less valuable.
It involved 3000 cattle which would need 12 cowboys to manage it.
Cowboys worked in ‘outfits’ led by a trail boss. It included a chuck wagon which transported food, water and equipment. There was also a wrangler who care for the horses.
Trail bosses were paid $100 per month, whilst the rest got $25-$30.
They would travel 15 or 20 miles per day.
Once they reached a cow town like Abilene, cowboys would get cleaned up and go get drunk, dance or visit a brothel.

3. How was a ranch different?
Ranches often covered huge areas of open land – the open range.
Through the winter, cattle roamed freely and mixed with other cattle. Cowboys would find work in bars or try to earn some money riding from ranch to ranch.
In winter, cowboys would have to ride out to check if any animals had got into difficulty. They would have to make paths in the snow for the cattle, break ice to allow them to get to water and find shelter for them when windy.
In the spring, cowboys would work together to round-up the cattle. Cattle were then branded to show which cattle they belonged to.
Cowboys on ranches stayed in bunkhouses which were often cold and draughty. There were strict rules e.g. no gambling.

4. The success of Abilene showed America that beef was the best way to make money. As a result, investors poured money into the industry. A few men dominated the industry. They were known as cattle barons because of their wealth and power. In territories like Wyoming, they controlled local politics and almost all land. They defended their interest very fiercely
Seeing an opportunity to make cash like Goodnight and Loving and Iliff, Joseph McCoy purchased 450 acres of land near the railroad. He built a hotel too and spent $5,000 advertising it. Abilene becomes a ‘cow town’ – 35,000 driven per year. Over 3 million cows between 1867 and 1882.
Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving also keen to make cash so decide to sell beef to the new populations in the west. Reservations near Fort Sumner were in need of beef, so they drove 2,0000 cows up to the fort and made $12,000. They path they used became known as “Goodnight-Loving trail”
In the same year, John Iliff bough large areas of land for a ranch near Denver. He managed to build up a huge heard of 26,000 cattle. He sold beef directly to mining towns and to reservations. He inspired many to begin to ranch on the Open –Range.
To cash in on this, Texans organise a large cattle drive to Sedalia, however were prevented by Texas fever.
After the Civil War ended beef was in high demand – cows were worth $40 in the north, but only $5 in the south.

5. Learning Task
Top tip:
Make sure you are connecting each point. How did one event lead to another? It should ready like a story. Use key phrases like “This led to…”, “The impact of this was…”
On one page your book, write the following sentences. Underneath each, explain briefly with some detail.
The impact of the Civil War on beef prices, 1865
The idea for a ‘long drive’ in 1866
The work of Goodnight and Loving in 1866
John Iliff and his ranches in 1866
The work of Joseph McCoy in Abilene in 1867
The cattle barons in 1870

6. What was a consequence of the open range?
Ranching on the open-range needed a lot of land (at least 2,000 acres). So they often used public land.
However, after the Homestead Act homesteaders began to settle on this land. This caused tension with ranchers. Ranchers hated the barbed wire that homesteaders used as it prevented their cattle from roaming freely.
Rich ranchers often took homesteaders to court over claims; knowing that most of them could not afford the legal fees.
Some ranchers even threatened homesteaders with violence – damaging crops, accusing them of rustling cows from ranch herd.
Cattle would sometimes stray onto fields and eat crops which annoyed homesteaders – ranchers said it was the farmers fault for not fencing off their land.

7. What was another consequence of the open range?
Ranchers also came into conflict with sheep herders, who also competed with them for public land.
Ranchers argued that the sheep ate grass down to the roots, leaving nothing for cows. They also claimed sheep spread disease: sheep scab.
When cattle ranchers began fencing off their land to stop other livestock using it, sheepherders would cut the fences.
Due to their wealth and power, ranchers often took them to court and won.
There were several deaths due to the tension between cattle ranchers and sheep herders in the 1870s.

8. Due to the boom in the cattle industry, the east had so much beef that shops had to lower prices. This meant the price of cattle fell. Profits began to decrease by 1882.
Because of the ‘beef bonanza’, the range became overstocked. This put pressure on the soil – grass withered making it even worse. As a result, cows began to become weaker.
The winter of was very harsh and it fell to -55 degrees. The cattle were already weak because of overstocking so many died. 15% died and many cattlemen went bust.
Due to this, the open range ended. Huge ranches could not afford to keep going. Instead, ranches became smaller.
Due to ranches being smaller – cattle became healthier. This was because it was easier to provide water in times of drought. With smaller herds, the price of beef went up again. Also because ranches were smaller, cattlemen could selectively breed them and feed them better which made them bigger and worth more.

9. Learning Task Falling beef prices, 1870s
Top tip:
Make sure you are connecting each point. How did one event lead to another? It should ready like a story. Use key phrases like “This led to…”, “The impact of this was…”
On one page your book, write the following sentences. Underneath each, explain briefly with some detail.
Falling beef prices, 1870s
Soil erosion/overstocking 1870s
The Great Die Up, 1887
The end of the open range
The changing role of cowboys