1. Chapter 18
Western Frontier

2. Rancher & Farmers
The increasing demand for beef helped the cattle industry grow.
Cattle ranchers in Texas drove herds to Abilene, Kansas, to be shipped east.
Cattle ranching spread across the Great Plains, creating the Cattle Kingdom that stretched from Texas to Canada.
Ranchers grazed huge herds on public land called the open range.
Competition, the invention of barbed wire, and the loss of prairie grass brought an end to the Cattle Kingdom.

3. Ranchers and Farmers Ranchers had plenty of cattle
The markets to sell the beef was in the North & the East.
The cattle could be loaded on trains in Missouri and shipped North & East.
The cattle drive or long drive- herding cattle 1000 miles or more to meet the railroads.
Stampedes was one of the greatest dangers on these cattle drives

4. Farmers Settle the Plains
Three factors brought settlers to the plains:
Railroads made the journey easier & cheaper
New laws offered free land(Homestead Act)
Above average rainfall

5. Farmers Settle the Plains
Homestead Act:
Passed by Congress
Gave settler 160 acres
Had to live on the land for 5 years
Effect:
Lured thousands of new settlers to the plains. .

6. Video
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