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Why did cowboys choose to go on long cattle drives following the civil war?
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Those were jobs that were available. There was lots of demand back east in restaurants for beef, the cattle were raised out west far from the few western railroads, so it was necessary to hire cowboys to drive the cattle all the way from the range to the railroad.
Within about 10 years the railroads expanded and went directly to where the cattle were raised and the age of cowboys and long cattle drives came to an end. The cowboys lost their jobs.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
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What caused the end to the cattle boom and cattle drives in the mid-1800's?
Actually that's when it all really began to take off, not when it ended. Cattle drives soon ended in the late 1800's to the early 1900's because of fierce winter storms, barbed wire, drought, overgrazing, and the near extinction of the population of Longhorns originating from Spain and developed in the wilds of southwestern America.
What are the animals that the middle colonies grew?
I assume that you mean the early 19th century colonies in the middle of America (on the Great Plains). My apologies, I am not American, so I assume this is correct. Earlier on, of course, there were very few animals on the plains apart from the buffalo (and White man didn't hunt them). There may have been the odd few animals, but really most people moved to the plains to grow crops; a low capital investment, which was really all they could afford. Later, when people became a little wealthier, they could afford livestock. The earliest would have been sheep. Sheep were fairly easy to keep, and you could keep large flocks easily. The Mormons were early pioneers of this. After the Civil War comes the best known story about livestock on the Plains; cattle. Cattle ranching sprouts its own culture and demands special treatment by any historian (which I am not, incidentally). After the Civil war, defeated soldiers from the Confederate side came back to their Texas ranches to find that their herd of perhaps ten or twenty had grown to perhaps even 10,000 + . This lead to huge cattle drives pioneered first by Goodnight and Loving up North to the Great Plains where they could be shipped by railway to the East where there was huge demand for beef. Cattle were kept on the Great Plains in cow towns by the railway. Homesteaders (the settlers) also kept cattle (though it was a different variety) on the Plains, which would mean that you have a choice between the sheep (1850s onwards) and the cattle (1866 onward), depending on the time period you had in mind. Cattle were more significant that sheep in their time, but were sparse on the Plains before the Civil War.
What made people from the eastern cities want to move west after the civil war?
Most westward expansion increased right after the civil war due to the mining industry in the west. The civil war caused economic problems. People were looking to start over and "get rich quick". Many people desired to own their own land. Thus the Homestead Act was created. The building of the transcontinental railroad created more jobs and led to more land being sold and purchased. The demands for beef in the west and the cattle drives led to ranching and farming.
What is the value of a 1870 wheat penny?
Sorry no wheat cents in 1870 you have a Indian Head. Condition & grade drives price a grade of G-4 is $55.00 per Red Book.
What made people from eastern cities want to move west after the US Civil War?
too many people in eastern cities. -your favorite, absolutely garbage education program, called apex
How did cowboys make money from cattle drives?
$ 2.00
What are cattle drives?
Cattle Drive--- A journey in which cowboys herded cattle north to the railroad depots in the 1800's
What are drives?
Cattle Drive--- A journey in which cowboys herded cattle north to the railroad depots in the 1800's
What did cowboys do on a cattle drive?
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on cattle drives.
What would a cowboy carry in a wagon during a cattle drive?
On cattle drives the cowboys usually did not have a wagon but rode their horses.
When cowboys herded their livestock to the railroads of the great plains it was known as a?
It was known as the cattle drives.
Why were cattles drives important?
Cattle Drives were important because the East wanted beef and the cowboys want money the cattle drived could take weeks to get to the Railroad station.
Who was involved in cattle drives?
To get cattle from the southeast to other regions
Why were cowboys important to the cattle drives?
because they graze cows on farms and they also enter rodeos
What vehicle carried food on the cattle drive?
Chuck Wagon- was used for carrying cooking utensils and food for serving the cowboys on cattle drives.
What are the occupation of cowboys?
Generally speaking, cowboys perform duties related to maintaining and servicing matters related to livestock on a ranch. This can be from taking care of horses to feeding cattle. In the past, cowboys worked as horsemen on cattle drives that brought these animals to special trains heading to slaughter, or by simply "driving" them there as herders.
Why were railroad lines built in Texas?
The first railroads built in Texas were used to transport cattle from the open range to the Chicago markets. With their completion the age of cattle drives and cowboys came to an end.
