University:
Arizona State University
Course:
HST 200 | Historical Themes
Academic year:

2024
Views:

438

Pages:

2
Author:

Thuyoul US

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) Westward Expansion, 1840-1900 The Cattle Kingdom The cattle sector contributed significantly to the growth of the West, even if it lacked the glamour of the Gold Rush. Wild cattle used to wander the frontiers of Spain for ages. Up to five million longhorn steers were scattered throughout the Texas frontier after the conclusion of the Civil War, but few settlers had taken advantage of the situation to seize them since they were hard to get to eastern markets. The first transcontinental railroad's completion and the construction of later railroad lines significantly altered the rules. It became apparent to cattle owners and merchants in the East that it was advantageous to round up wild steers and ship them by rail so they could be sold for up to thirty to fifty dollars a head in the East. These ranchers and businesspeople started the wild speculation in the cattle business, which resulted in several fortunes being gained and squandered. Hence, the magnificent cattle drives of the 1870s and 1860s started. The well-known Chisholm Trail offered cowboys from Texas an expedient route to train terminals in Dodge City, Kansas, Wichita, and Abilene, where they would be paid. These soon became known as "cowtowns," expanding rapidly to meet the demands of the cattle business and cowboys. Cattlemen such as Illinois-born Joseph G. McCoy soon discovered that the railroad provided an ideal means of transporting highly sought-after meat from Texas to the East. McCoy built stockyards, hotels, banks, and other establishments to assist the company after deciding that Abilene would provide cowboys with a handy location to move the cattle. He advertised his services and urged cowboys to pass through Abilene with their cattle in order to make excellent money; before long, the city had developed into a thriving western community with plenty of places for the cowboys to splurge on their wellearned wages. Up to forty thousand cowboys roamed the Great Plains between 1865 and 1885, trying to find employment with nearby ranches. Nearly one-third of the guys, who were mostly in their twenties, were African American or Hispanic. It is important to remember that the Mexicans who had long before colonized those areas were the primary source of inspiration for both the American cowboy caricature and the cowboys themselves. The Mexican ranchers who employed saddles, lassos, chaps, and lariats to great effect prior to the arrival of cowboys are the originators of the items that have come to symbolize cowboy culture. The cowboy way of life was unglamorous and unclean. Cowboys undertook the journey in the hope of stable job and satisfactory compensation because even though the terrain was challenging, longhorn cattle were resilient animals that could live and grow while grazing along the long road. But the days of the free range eventually came to an end. The trail's grazing prospects were reduced by ranchers' land development, but in 1873, the invention of barbed wire made it possible for ranchers to fence off their properties and cattle claims. Like the mining sector before it, the cattle industry saw an increase in eastern businessmen's dominance when the open range ended. The era of cattle runs came to an end as wealthy Easterners invested in ranches and extended rail links.