TX History Ch 21.4

17
Chapter 21: The Cattle Kingdom Section 4: The Closing of the Open Range

Transcript of TX History Ch 21.4

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Chapter 21: The Cattle Kingdom

Section 4: The Closing of the Open Range

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Fencing the Open Range

• Problems:

– Farmers wanted to keep stray cattle out of crops

– Little wood on plains to build fences

– Illinois woman asks husband to create a fence to keep dogs out of garden

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Barbed Wire

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Fencing the Open Range

•Joseph F. Glidden—Illinois farmer who invented barbed wire

Joseph Glidden

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Fencing the Open Range

•Glidden opened a factory to produce wire

•“Light as air…cheap as dirt”

•Made large scale fencing easy & inexpensive

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Fencing the Open Range

•The cattle kingdom began to disappear after fences started to enclose the open range

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The Range Wars

• Barbed wire presented problems:

–Small property owners surrounded

–Public roads blocked off & mail delivery disrupted

–Water sources fenced off

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The Range Wars

•Range War—armed conflict over fencing and sheep that erupted during the 1880s

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The Range Wars

• Fence cutting becomes a major issue

• 1884: Gov. John Ireland calls an emergency session of the legislature:

– Fence cutting illegal

– Gates every three miles

– Illegal to fence land you do not own

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The Range Wars

• In parts of Texas that were too rugged and dry for cattle, some ranchers turned to sheep herding.

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Legacy of the Open Range

•Death of the Open Range:

–Barbed wire and fencing of open range

–Extension of rail lines & refrigerated railcars

–Overgrazing of land

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Legacy of the Open Range

•Death of the open range:

– Introduction of windmills & expansion of farming onto the Plains

–Expansion of sheep ranching

•Cattle ranching an important part of Texas’ legacy & economy