Cattle Kingdoms and Farming on the Great Plains

1
Cattle Kingdoms andFarming on the Great Plains

• Chapter 5
• Lesson 3/4

2
Cattle Kingdom The Second Stage of Western
Development

• Vast herds of cattle roamed wild in Texas, and to
  meet the growing demand for beef, cowboys drove
  large herds northward to the railheads from 1866
  until the cattle market collapsed twenty years
  later. Cattle Kingdom included many ranches that
  stretched from Texas north to Canada.

• The Cattle Kingdom Rose
• Industrial expansion in the East and Midwest
  caused a larger demand for food
• Railroad expansion to the West and McCoys cattle
  pens created transportation lines without hurting
  the farmers

3
Cattlemen

• http//www.unitedstreaming.com/videos/The20Americ
  an20Industrial20Revolution/chp2914_300k.asf

4
Joseph Mc CoyThe Real McCoy

• Joseph McCoy was a businessman who created pens
  for cattle in small towns. Settled in Abilene
  Kansas after seeing the strong water supplies.
• He advertised and made pledges to Texas ranchers
  that if they would drive their Longhorn cattle
  from Texas to Kansas that he would have them
  shipped by rail to other markets and that the
  ranchers would receive a good price for their
  stock

5
Abilene

• Established by Joseph McCoy
• as a railhead for cattle shipments
• Surrounded by the grasslands
  and the end of the Kansas Pacific
  Railroads
• Through Joseph McCoy's promotional and
  entrepreneurial efforts Abilene became a
  prosperous and famous cattle-town from
  1867 to 1870.
• LONG DRIVES the overland drive of cattle from
  Texas along one of the trails that ended at a
  railroad line in "cow towns" like Abilene,
  Kansas.

6
Home, Home on the Range

• Many realized the profits that could be made from
  cattle ranching
• Rather than buy lands, some ranchers purchased
  range rights, or water rights
• Control of range rights reduced ranching
  competition because water was scarce

7
The Vaqueros

• Vaqueros Mexican ranch hands who cared for
  cattle and horses.
• Early cowboys were white Southerners who did not
  go home after the Civil War
• The cattle ranching that later emerged in the
  West was a blend of Mexican practices and
  Anglo-American practices, but many of the
  techniques and terms that were used in American
  cowboy culture came from the Spanish
• From Vaqueros came the western saddle, the
  lariat, leather chaps (chinks)

8
The Longest Cattle Trails

• The Cattle Trail that extended farthest West is
  known as the Goodnight-Loving.
• This trail is named for Charles Goodnight
  Oliver Loving and runs from Texas to Denver,
  Colorado then on to Cheyenne,Wyoming.

9
Cattle Drives and Cattle Towns

• Cattle drives long journeys on which cowboys
  herded cattle to market or to the northern Plains
  for grazing
• Routes north included the Chisholm Trail, which
  ran from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas

• In Cattle Towns, businesses such as
  boardinghouses, hotels, restaurants served the
  cowboys.
• Life in the cattle towns could be rough and
  violent, however, sheriffs arrested drunks, fixed
  sidewalks, and collected liquor licenses

10
The End of the Open Range

• Barbed wire enabled farmers and ranchers to close
  off their land at a low cost
• 1880s cattle businesses came under domination of
  big companies (large ranchers) that used the
  fences to close off ranges, causing economic and
  environmental disasters
• Range Wars competition between large ranchers
  and some farmers and small ranchers for remaining
  western lands and valuable water sources

11
The End of the Cattle Kingdom

• Over-speculation by Eastern and foreign investors
  created a financial bubble that burst
• Beef prices were driven to low values
• The severe drought of the mid-1800s was followed
  by the brutal blizzards of 1886 1887
• Thousands of cattle were frozen to death or
  starved
• Overgrazing depleted nutrients of grasses and
  grazing land for the cattle

12
Agriculture The 3rd Stage of Western Expansion

• In 1862, Congress passed two important land grant
  acts that helped open the West to settlers
• The Homestead Act
• The Morrill Act
• The Department of Agriculture helped farmers who
  settled in the West by researching new crops and
  farming methods for farmers

13
Government Acts that Brought People West

• Homestead Act (1862)
• Provided 160 acres of free land in exchange for a
  small fee or a promise to live on the land and
  till it for five years
• Granted land to single women and immigrants who
  would become a citizen to bring new families West
  

• Morrill Act (1862)
• Granted each state loyal to the Union during the
  Civil War 30,000 acres of land for each
  Representative or Senator in Congress
• Required states to sell land to raise money to
  build colleges
• Opened land to homesteaders more than 11 million
  acres in Oklahoma

14
Ways the Federal Government Promoted Western
Settlement

• Passed laws such as the Homestead Act and Morrill
  Act
• Made land available to former settlers
• Opened up former Indian lands in Oklahoma to
  settlement
• Government agencies looked into new farming
  techniques to accommodate the Great Plains climate

15
Settling on the Plains

• Some settlers came from places such as New
  England, where land was expensive
• Some settlers were descendents of earlier
  pioneers to the Midwest
• Single women came West with grants from the
  Homestead Act
• Exodusters, Southern African Americans migrated
  West in search of economic opportunity and equal
  rights
• Immigrants were granted land if they became a
  citizen from the Homestead Act

16
Farming on the Plains

• Challenges
• Dry Climate
• Extreme Temperatures
• Blizzards
• Tornadoes
• Tough Soil

• New Farming Techniques
• John Deers steel plow cut through thick sod
• Dry farming
• Cyrus McCormicks new farming machines
• Different crops were grown

17
Daily Life on the Plains

• Wood was scarce, families built houses out of sod
• Chores
• Washing clothes included making soap and building
  the fire to heat the water
• Womens chores included preparing meals and
  growing vegetables
• Farm families were often large everyone in the
  family was involved with chores

18
Communities on the Great Plains

• Communities provided aid and assistance to their
  members. Great Plains families worked very hard
  to provide communities for their families
  especially the children
• Churches often served as a community meeting
  place
• Schools were often one room buildings in which
  students of all ages learned together
• Few kids had school books
• Children only went to school part of the year
  because they were needed on the farms the rest of
  the year

19
Cause and Effect of Western Settlement

• Long Term Causes
• Desire for new farm and ranch land
• Search for natural resources
• Growth of national and foreign markets
• Immediate Causes
• Homestead Act of 1862
• Completion of the transcontinental railroad in
  1869

• Effects
• Increased conflict with American Indian cultures
  in the West
• Immigrants and migrants come to the West in
  search of a new life
• Great expansion of the western economy
• Creation of new states

20
Homework

• Complete worksheet 5.4 for Wed
• If you watch the debate, complete the debate
  bingo card, put check marks over how many times
  they say specific words and have parents sign for
  3 points extra credit