The Last Frontier 7

In 1865, the frontier line was mainly along the western edges of states bordering the Mississippi River, extending outward in parts of Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska. To the west, there were large mountains rich in metals, while plains and deserts led to the Pacific Ocean. The interior regions were mostly inhabited by Native Americans, including tribes like the Sioux, Pawnee, and Navajo. Within 25 years, this land was changed into states and territories, with miners, cattle ranchers, sheep herders, and farmers occupying it. The Homestead Act of 1862, which offered free farms, largely benefited cattle ranchers instead of farmers, as much of the Great Plains was better suited for ranching.

Congress also chartered the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, which eventually connected in 1869, making travel between the coasts much quicker. A gold rush in areas like California and Colorado attracted many settlers, and as mining communities grew, the real wealth came from cattle raising and agriculture. The cattle drive became essential for transporting Texas longhorns north to rail shipping points. By the mid-1880s, ranches appeared across the region, and the annual cattle boom peaked. Farmers, arriving with barbed wire for fencing, began to take over lands previously roamed by ranchers, leading to the image of the cowboy, a heroic figure often romanticized, yet characterized by hard living conditions.