Ranchers and Farmers Flashcards
Define cattle drive.
Ranchers drove their cattles hundreds of miles to reach the railroads to ship them off
Define cowtown
A town that springs at the end of cattle trails where ranchers sold their cattle.
How did the expansion of railroads help to create a successful cattle industry?
There was a higher demand for beef in the North and East, so railroads made transporting the cows easier.
What contributed to the end of the cattle drives?
Expansion of railroads to the West, “Texas Fever”, and people fencing their land with barbed wire.
Define homestead.
A house and other building set on an acreage that often included farmers land.
Define sodbusters.
Plains farmers.
Define sooners.
Eager settlers who had slipped into their land in the Oklahoma Land Rush ahead of time.
List at least 3 difficulties faced by Kansas farmers in the late 1800s.
Grasshoppers, periods of drought, and the winter snow.
What was the Homestead Act?
It gave up to 60 acres of land to an head of family who paid a $10 filing fee and lived on the land for 5 years. If the farmer showed improvements in the land, they could keep it.
What was the Oklahoma Land Rush?
In Oklahoma, there was several unassigned lands. The federal government agreed to open these lands to settlers. More than 10,000 people lined up on the edges of the land. When the signal was given, homesteaders charged across the border to stake their claims.
What was the National Grange (a.k.a. The Grange)?
National organization of farmers
Define farm cooperative
A way for farmers to pool their money together to buy supplies
