American History after 1877: The Cattle Industry Development and Its Success (Research Paper Sample)

American History after 1877:
The Cattle Industry Development and Its Success
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American History after 1877: The Cattle Industry Development and Its Success
The approach of starting the cattle industry was put into consideration in the United States back in the 1880s. Cattle were transported from the South to the central states’ town centers by rail for slaughter and processing. The purpose of the paper is to state the reasons for the development of the cattle industry and find when and where the approach took place in the United States. Furthermore, the paper will describe the function of cowboys by demonstrating issues related to them, show how the cattle frontier was violent, and find causes for the decline of the cattle development and work initiated by the cowboys.
The Functions of Cowboys
In the United States, cowboys were majorly of Scottish, English, Native American, and African descent. To be identified as a cowboy, individuals used to wear a hat with a wide brim meant to offer protection from the sunlight. There was also the bandanna over the lower half of a cowboy’s face to protect him from the clouds of dust coming from the cattle. Lastly, the American cowboy wore leggings and high boots meant to protect him from briars and cactus needles while working with the heard. The presence of cowboys in the United States presupposed moving the cattle from one area to another and protecting them during the night (Schwartz, 2012).
Cowboys were paid $25-$40 monthly. The payment entailed inclusion of a place for accommodation, and it was as a source of motivation for them to work hard. Additionally, the function of cowboys was to protect the cattle entrusted to them. Cowboys were able to take care of as many as 300 cattle, which was an indication that the work assigned to them was difficult. Thus, cowboys were relevant because they contributed towards the achievement of the development of the cattle industry in the United States (Schwartz, 2012).
The Cattle Frontier
The cattle frontier was violent to such an extent that it led to the decline of the amount of cattle and the introduction of barbed wire. The violation came about because of the increase of overgrazing and the destruction of fragile plan grasses. There was a competition for grazing lands between sheep rangers and cow rangers. The competition was also related to water, and sheep often ate grass close to the ground, which meant that cows starved (Henretta, Edwards, & Self, 2012). The bitterness led to the collusion between farmers, cow rangers, and sheep rangers, and as a result, they began fencing their lands (Hobson, 2012). Furthermore, two harsh winters and two dry summers influenced the amount of cattle herds negatively. As the result of bad weather conditions, from 80% to 90% of cattle died. Therefore, such violent events had contributed to the cattle frontier.
The Decline of the Cattle Industry
The decline of the cattle industry in the United States took place because markets had vanished, and ranchers were left holding several million heads of cattle. There was also the transition from beef to pork in the United States that also led to the decline of cattle industry in the United States. Pasture grew thinner as well, which ultimately led to the decline of cattle development as well. The absence of pasture meant that cows could not be fed and, hence, there was no need to keep cattle in the United States. The lack of pastures led to the decrease in cattle weight (Schwartz, 2012). Thus, the decline of cattle industry in the United States was influenced by different factors that led to the collapse of the cattle business as a whole. Additionally, there was the introduction of barbed wire that fenced off the cattle trails to permit the farmers plant their crops. The development of agriculture meant that cows had to be kept out of farms to permit plants’ growth.
The issues associated with agriculture were encouraged, and as a result, more farmers took the initiative to invest in barbed wires to keep the cows and cowboys out of their farms. As a outcome of such decisions, many cattle industries in the United States ended up being disbanded and closed (Henretta et al., 2012). In some states such as Texas, for example, laws were also passed to ensure cattle were banned because of modernization. Furthermore, the cos...