WHY CATTLE RANCHING DEVELOPED ON THE GREAT PLAINS,AMERICAN WEST (1840-1895)

AMERICAN WEST (1840-1895)

WHY CATTLE RANCHING DEVELOPED ON THE GREAT PLAINS:

Key factors in development of cattle ranching:

Alot of fortune were made for a while out of cattle ranching on The Great Plains. The industry was based on a combination of factors that made it highly profitable,unfortunately for the cattle barons it did not last forever.

The underlying factor in the development of Cattle ranching was the free availability of three crucial natural products:

• Wild Cattle
• Wild Horses
• Grass

These, together with a huge and growing market for beef in the Norh,meant that ranching became a good way to make a living.

For ranching to work, serveral things had to be in place:

• The railroads were a critical factor in the development of Cattle ranching- without them the cattle would not have reached the marketplace.
• The Long-drives (which took the Cattle to the railroads.)
• Cow-towns and stockyards (where the Cattle were…