Long Drive Research Paper

Long Drive was a term used by Texas ranchers to describe the route they took to herd cattle from Missouri to the far reaches of Kansas to access the railroad in hopes of moving their livestock up to the northeast where they would profit more. Unfortunately due to the Civil War there was an abundance of cattle in the state which led to a decrease in monetary gain, so having the option to sell their cows up north was very significant to their wellbeing. Open Range Ranching was simply free land that was used at your leisure because no one laid claim to these areas. This land was necessary due to the fact that the cattle couldn’t survive during the winter months of the 1870s. Fortunately this area was available to save their livestock, but by the 1880s so many people had heard about it and the area quickly became thin due to the volume of animals devouring the grass. This open area was important at a time when cattle owners were in desperate need to protect their investments. The Homestead Act of 1862 signed into law by Abraham Lincoln, promised 160 acres of free land to any citizen who settled on it for five years. The purpose of this act was to encourage Western migration in hopes that these newly arrived tenants would improve the area by building a home and cultivating the land. The Chinese Exclusion Act was introduced into law in 1882. The purpose
of the act was to try and decrease the amount of Chinese immigrants coming into the country. This act was put into place every ten years until 1902 when it became permanent. This move was deemed necessary because they were taking jobs away from American workers at an alarming rate, which led to more poverty, racism, as well as riots.

Joseph McCoy was influential in 1867 because he started what would become the first shipping depot for cattle. He established his operation in Abilene, Kansas and opened the Abilene Trail through Indian Territory from Texas. He built a hotel, bank, office and provided stockyards for livestock. By opening up this venue ranchers were allowed to sale their stock to buyers who would go onto ship them eastward. The Mining Frontier occurred in 1848 and 1849 in California, a place that was described as “too dry for farming and surely not susceptible of supporting a very large population”.
However gold was discovered there which led to the Gold Rush of 1848. By this discovery the land that was thought to be useless became very profitable and uplifting for most of the population. Unfortunately everyone couldn’t acquire wealth due to the lack of finances to obtain the necessary heavy machinery needed to mine some of those hard to reach areas. Gold led these miners to other precious metals as well such as copper, lead, and
zinc. The Bourbon Redeemers also known as the Democratic Party came about after 1877 during the reconstruction era. Their sole purpose was to overthrow the radical republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags. They consisted of mostly rich landowners, businessmen, and professionals that controlled southern politics. A special election was held in 1872 that led to a landslide victory for the Democrats, a victory that continued for over a 130 years. However if you were a small farmer or laborer it was very beneficial but did nothing to protect the interests of black people.