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The disappearance of open rangeland: Why was the 19th century a turning point for American ranching?
The 19th century was a period of major change in American history, especially in agriculture and ranching. As pioneers moved west, the concept of open ranching evolved, facing many challenges and changes. Open pastures, a symbol of free expanses of land, were once the epitome of American cattle roaming freely, but those days seem to be fading into the past.
Open pastures were a part of life in the West in the past, giving cattle space to run freely. However, after the 19th century, as the population increased and land privatization intensified, it gradually declined.
As the United States continued to expand and its population grew in the early 19th century, demands for agricultural productivity increased, leading to increasing conflicts over land use. The open rangelands of the West began to be affected by private land laws. The concept of private ownership of land became deeply ingrained during this period, and government land policies slowly shifted to support private property rights.
As the ranching system changed, growing wheat and other crops replaced cattle grazing. Livestock such as donkeys and horses that were once endangered have gradually lost their status, and many ranchers have had to turn to more profitable agriculture in order to keep up with the changing times. This represented the end of open pasture and the formation of a new agricultural economic system.
“Cattle are no longer the only resource, and these huge areas are being converted into farmland, making it impossible for many pastures to graze as freely as they once did.”
A major influence of this period was the "fence movement". In order to control the number of cattle and protect crops, the establishment of fences has become a serious challenge to open pasture. Fences not only represent the privatization of land, but also symbolize an industry contract, and the establishment of this system has deeply affected the overall structure of ranching operations.
Not only that, the drought in the 1890s and the subsequent outbreaks of cattle flu and other diseases put many ranches in a crisis of survival. This makes ranching that relies solely on open range operations no longer sustainable. These factors continue to force ranchers to create new business models and shift to large-scale and specialized production.
“The transformation of the ranch means the birth of a new way of life, which gradually fades away in the cowboy’s life.”
Such a shift not only affects the ranching industry economically, but also further changes people's perspectives culturally. As fencing increased, traditional cowboy culture was slowly replaced. Although the free ranchingism shown in Western movies still exists, the more commercial image of the cowboy has begun to emerge, forming another interpretation.
In the 20th century, with the advancement of science and technology, the modern ranch management model came into being. The establishment of a management system and the use of mechanized equipment have greatly improved the efficiency of ranch operations. Although this economic model solved many problems, it also brought an end to the era of open ranching.
Therefore, the disappearance of open pastures is not only a change in land use patterns, but also the result of economic, social and cultural influences. What factors contributed to this change? With the development of human beings, can we return to that state of freedom again?
