How did the cowboy culture reflect the ethnic diversity of the United States?

Answer 1

Because cowboys ranked low on the social scale of the time and because they often lived and worked in remote areas there are no precise figures on how many were of any particular ethnic group or even how many there were over all.

What we usually consider today to be the "cowboy culture" began at the end of the Civil War when Texans began to drive herds north to the rail roads. There had been horse mounted cattle herders before of course all across the South West from Texas to California. Before "White" settlers arrived and the area became part of the US, the cowboys were primarily Mexican, and called vaqueros. The later cowboy culture, tools, and techniques were based on the vaquero culture.

It is estimated that the cowboys who drove the earlier herds north were about 50% white, and 25% Black and Hispanic each. Those figures held pretty constant in Texas, with Blacks perhaps rising to 30% of the total. As ranching spread the percentages depended on the part of the country they were in. Hispanic numbers were higher in the South West and West of the Rockies but lower in the Northern Great Plains. Black numbers were higher in Texas but very low in the North West. The number of blacks decreased the farther north from Texas. These percentages pretty much reflect the general population for time and place. In fact even today the Northern most states from Idaho thru Wyoming and Montana to the Dakotas rank in the bottom six for Black population.

In some areas, the South West and Northern Plains and Mountains, there were small but appreciable numbers of American Indians working as cowboys.

By the end of the "cowboy era" in the 1890's one estimate is that over all, up to a third of cowboys were black, 1/5 to 1/4 were Hispanic, and the rest "Whites" of various national descent.

Answer 2

Initially, cowboy culture primarily reflected the white settlers of the West. While most of these settler were law abiding farm and ranch owners, others schemed to get rich via small petty crimes and bank robberies. Since the United States was also ethnically diverse, there were black and Hispanic cowboys. Over the years, the cowboy term was basically given to anyone that wore a cowboy hat, rode a horse, and believed in true American pride and freedom.
"Cowboys" (cattle workers on the western frontier) were a mix of many races and ethnic groups, from Irish and Polish immigrants to Mexicans, Indians, and African Americans.

Answer 3

most were white