Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2024
First exams 2026
Rivalry Between Homesteaders and Cattle Ranchers (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
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
Exam Tip
A question could ask you to write a narrative account of the conflict between cattle ranchers and homesteaders. A common misconception that students have is that a narrative account is a story. A narrative account answer should follow CHRONOLINK:
Put the sequence of events in chronological order
Link each section of the narrative to the next event that occurred. You should use linkage terms such as: 'as a consequence', 'this led to' or 'because'
The information above covers the first and second sections of this narrative account. The last section of the narrative account is covered in the Johnson County War.
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