Impact of Cattle Industry Development on Plain Indians

1. How did this exploitation make life for Plain Indians more difficult? (pages 68-69 of the green book) Make two columns • List of hardships faced by settlers • How people tried to overcome them What impact did this have on Plain Indians?

2. How did the cattle industry develop? Key Topic 4: Settlement and Conflict on the Plains 1861-77 Starter- what does this source show us about the causes of growth in the cattle industry? Extension- explain how the railroads and the civil warhelped the cattle industry develop?

3. Key words/concepts • By the 1870s ranchers began to move their cattle on to the Great Plains for many reasons- driving cattle from Texas was dangerous, a famous rancher John Iliff proved that cattle can survive the long winter on the Great Plains which also killed the ticks and diseases carried from Texas, the Northern Plains are empty (Indians on reservations, Homesteaders mainly Southern) • Cowboy and settlement on the Great Plains: Cowboys and cattle ranchers were the first group of European settlers to move permanently onto the Great Plains. They did so, to a degree, by adopting or copying many of the ways of the Native Americans.  • Key question: Why and how did cattle ranching develop on the Great Plains?

4. How did the cattle industry develop? • http://www.timelines.tv/index.php?t=4&e=6 • Create a detailed mind-map

5. Background- The need for cattle drives • Cattle were not worth much unless they could be sold. The only way to do this was to drive them to the markets on the eastern states(which became easier with railroads) • However many Texans had a problem in the 1850s and 1860s- their cattle carried diseases such as Texas Fever, spread by ticks and homesteaders would make them turn back afraid of its spreading. • One solution to this problem was pioneered by Charles Goodnight- in 1860 he had a herd of 180. when he returned from the civil war he had a herd of 5000. • In 1866 he drove his cattle to Fort Summer New Mexico and sold them to feed the army and Indians on reservations- a good market for cattle. • By 1870 the US government was buying 50-60,000 a year to feed as rations to Indian Reservations. • To feed the Eastern demands the railroads were the solution and men started to develop cow towns along these, far enough West to avoid conflict to homesteaders.

6. Homework- due in 1 week As part of your revision, complete answers about the arguments and facts you would use to describe: (in detail) • Why cattle ranching developed in Texas. • How and why cattle ranching spread from Texas further into the Great Plains. • Who the cattle pioneers were. • Why cattle trails and 'cow towns' were set up in the 1860s. • How cattle ranching was affected by the railroads. • Why the 'open range' had come to an end by the 1890s.

7. Key Question- answer in detail using the next three slides Explain the impacts of the civil war on the cattle industry

8. The impacts of the civil war on the cattle industry • Between 1861 and 1866 the USA was split by a Civil War between the Northern and Southern States. Texas was on the losing side • During the war the Ranchers of Texas were cut off from their markets in the North and East. Charles Goodnight (rancher), was away from Texas and had no contact with his herd of cattle. Yet in this time it increased from around 180 to 8 000. • By 1866 there were an estimated 5 000 000 cattle in Texas! • There was money to made for the cattlemen as demand for meat grew

9. The impacts of the civil war on the cattle industry • The 1860s were a decade of Plains wars between the Indians and the white settlers backed by the US Army • The army built camps and forts on the Plains to maintain its control, protect its soldiers and settlers, e.g. Fort Laramie • The soldiers in these forts needed feeding with fresh meat, and contracts were available to those who could supply the demands of the army • The US Army also had the job of ensuring the supply of food to the Indians on the reservations

10. The impacts of the civil war on the cattle industry • In the 1860s the Indians were forced to live on reservations • They had been defeated by the US Army and were now trapped on reservations controlled by the army and government agents • The reservations were usually in the worst areas of land and the Indians found it impossible to support themselves through farming • Contracts were available to those who could supply the cattle needed • By 1870 the US Army was buying between 60 and 70 000 cattle a year to feed the Indians and its own soldiers

11. One big problem of moving the cattle from Texas to the cities of the East was transport. The building of the Trans-Continental Railroad by 1868 solved this problem • It was now possible to drive the cattle to a rail depot, sell them to a dealer, who could then transport them in refrigerated wagons to the growing cities of the East such as New York and Chicago • Cow towns such as Abilene were built at railheads for the transport of cattle to the East

12. Read page 69-70 (CGP green revision book) • Task- create a mind map on how the cattle industry developed (beef bonanza, cattle trails, cow towns…..) • Make sure you have each of the main factors then add detail to them

13. Rise/Fall- create a list and put in the correct section: Rise or Fall of the cattle industry • The cattle trade was at its peak from 1867 until the early 1880s. The following factors contributed to this: • Increased number of railway lines - able to transport cattle to new markets • Development of refrigerated rail carriages - cattle could be slaughtered before transportation • Removal of Indians from the Plainsto reservations - more land available for ranching • In the last twenty years of the nineteenth century the beef trade virtually collapsed. The following factors contributed to this: • Farmers began to experiment with different breeds of cattle that could not live on the open range. • There was less grass available for grazing due to the number of people settling on the Plains. • In 1883 there was a drought that ruined what grass there was. • The demand for beef fell which meant that ranching was less profitable • The winter of 1886/7 was very severe - cattle and cowboys died in the freezing temperatures

14. Plenary- True or false? (copy and complete) • Texans started to drive their cattle North realising their was a huge demand. • By 1885, just 15 cattle-barons owned 8 million hectares of range, and owned roughly 1.5 million cattle. • By the 1880s freezing Winters and droughts led to a collapse in the successes of the cattle industry TRUE FALSE TRUE

15. Plenary- exam practice(18 mark interpretation/statement questions) • "The railroads were the critical factor in the development of cattle ranching.” • How far do you agree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer. (15-18 mins)

16. How did this exploitation make life for Plain Indians more difficult? (pages 68-69 of the green book) Make two columns • List of hardships faced by settlers • How people tried to overcome them