Transcript The Cattle Ranching Kingdom power point notes

The cattle ranching boom
The Cattle Boom
Reasons:
The construction of the trans-continental railroad
allowed for goods to be shipped across the
country from city to city, east to west, north to
south – However, a system needed to be
established to get food to the railroad workers so
this monumental task could be completed. The
farming frontier endured hardships due to the
west/mid-west climate. So the simple solution
was to have “COWBOYS” deliver cattle to the
railroad workers at “Cow –Towns”
Texas Longhorns
Why this Breed???
►Could travel great distances
with little water and fed on grass
►Maintained there weight
throughout the trip
The OPEN RANGE:
Vast area of grassland on which
longhorn cattle grazed freely on their trips
throughout the West
Who were these so-called Cowboys
• Ex – Confederate Soldiers
• African Americans (1 in 7)
African Americans who migrated from the South to the
West in the years following the Civil War = Exodusters
• Mexicans ( 1 in 5)
– Had the biggest influence
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
CHAPS
Samuel Colt’S
– 6 Shooter
Spurs
Lariat
the CowboyS Journey…
•
•
•
•
•
2-4 months to reach destination
16 -18 cowboys for every 3,000 cattle
$40 / month
18 hour days
Finish @ railhead - a point on a railroad
from which roads and other transportation
routes begin.
Problems Encountered: Dangers
 Did not want cattle to lose weight during trip, so
had to move slowly
 Keeping the herd organized – prevent stampede
 Rough weather
 Native Americans
Et al. (see readings – Tales of the Roundup)
READINGS:
 Tales of the Roundup:
•
Earnest Cook
•
H.P. Cook
•
Jacob Bennett
•
Rowdy Buell
•
J.H. “Jake” Byler
http://www.thc.state.tx.us
/public/upload/publicatio
ns/chisholm-trail.pdf
SOURCE: http://www.cartermuseum.org/edu_guides/smith/resources/images/cattle_new2.gif
Trail boss:
The cowboy in charge of all other cowboys and cattle on the trail drive.
Chuck Wagon:
A wagon that carried food, supplies and cooking equipment on trail drives.
Drag rider:
A cowboy who rides at the rear of the herd to keep it moving.
Flank rider:
A cowboy who rides at the side of the herd to keep it from spreading out.
Point rider:
A cowboy who rides at the front of the herd on a trail drive.
Remuda:
The extra horses taken on the trail drive.
Swing rider:
A cowboy who rides alongside a herd to turn it in the right direction.
Wrangler:
The cowboy in charge of the remuda on the trail.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.cartermuseum.org/edu_guides/smith/resources/jobs_activitypage.htm
The End of the Open Range:
• Bad weather – Blizzards (severe winters)
• Farmers – established private property
now cattle could not graze openly
End of Open Range
Ultimately, the trans-continental railroad took the place
of the Cowboy
The farming boom
Print illustrating a granger's
procession and mass
meeting, in "History of the
Grange Movement"
(National Publishing Co.,
1874). The Grange, also
known as the Patrons of
Husbandry, was organized
in 1867 to assist farmers with
purchasing machinery,
building grain elevators,
lobbying for government
regulation of railroad
shipping fees and providing
a support network for farm
families. By the early 1870's
there were more than one
million members.
In 1867, Oliver H. Kelley, an employee in the Department of Agriculture, founded the
Patrons of Husbandry. This organization was also known as the Grange. The Grange's
purpose was to provide farmers with an organization that could assist them with any
difficulties that arose. During the late 1860s and 1870s, farmers faced numerous problems,
including swarms of grasshoppers, extravagant railroad fares to ship crops, expensive
farming machinery, high interest and mortgage rates, and falling prices. Farmers in the
Great Plains and the South quickly rallied to the Grange, although this organization also
gained members in other parts of the United States.
THE HOMESTEAD ACT
MAY 20, 1862
 One of 3 government land acts to
encourage settlement of the Great
Plains
Adult citizen who headed a family
& had not fought against the Union
 Pay a small registration fee &
promise to cultivate the land
Receive up to 160 acres and gain
title to it after 5 years.
 Approx. 400,000 families took
advantage
The rapid growth in homesteading of the west
developed a new type of American home; the
soddie. The sodden homes were built from
prairie soil. The average home contained one
room, one door and one small window.
THE SODDIE
THE PACIFIC RAILWAY ACT
THE MORRILL ACT
July 2, 1862
• Also called the Land-Grant Act of 1862
• Granted states more than 17 million acres of land to raise revenue for the
establishment of colleges.
• Gave tracts of land to each state that remained in the Union during the Civil
War. The land was to be sold and the profits used to create colleges for
agriculture and the mechanical arts. (business & agriculture)
• Established over 70 colleges and universities
University of California
Michigan State University
• In 1890 a second Morrill Act awarded similar land grants to southern states
Economic Development of the West
• Homstead Act permitted any citizen or intended citizen
to select any surveyed land up to 160 acres
• Pacific Railroad Act: gave lands to railroad companies
to develop a railroad line linking the east and west
coasts
• Morrill Act: granted more than 17 mil. Acres of federal
land to the states
• The homesteaders use the railroads to ship their crops
• Railroad companies advertised in the east to encourage
settlement along the rail routes.