Rivalry Between Homesteaders and Cattle Ranchers (Edexcel GCSE History)

What Different Groups were Using the Plains by the 1870s? - Summary

By the 1870s, the Plains region of the USA was home to various groups with conflicting interests.

Cattle barons were wealthy men who owned large cattle ranches. Many cattle barons got land from the US government or railway companies. They utilised the open range of the Plains for grazing their cattle. They employed cowboys to drive their cattle along trails to railheads or markets for sale.

Homesteaders acquired 160 acres of land through the Homestead Act of 1862. Homesteaders sought to establish farms and cultivate the Plains for agriculture. Cattle barons often clashed with homesteaders. Lots of cattle barons resented the homesteaders settling on grazing lands.

Sheep farmers were another group that utilised the Plains. Homesteaders believed that sheep were damaging to the environment. Sheep competed for grazing resources with cattle.

Conflicts arose between all three groups. These were called the Range Wars. Tension sometimes escalated to violence. The US government intervened in some of these conflicts but tension continued.

What Complaints did Homesteaders Have?

What Complaints did Ranchers Have?

Conflict Over Sheep Farming

• Large-scale sheep farming began in the 1870s in the same places as open-range cattle ranching

• Ranchers also had conflicts with shepherds

  • Ranchers claimed that the sheep:

    • Ate grass, leaving nothing for the cattle

    • Spread a disease called sheep scab

    • Farmers cut barbed wire from around fenced-off grazing land

• In response, cattle ranchers took sheep farmers to court

  • Cattle barons dominated local government

    • As a result, cattle barons tended to win the court cases

• Violent clashes occurred between cattle barons and shepherds

  • This resulted in deaths