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Before the mid-1800s, much of the American West was a vast
expanse of open plains. Native tribes followed buffalo herds unimpeded
for hundreds of miles, cowboys ran cattle wherever water and grass led
them, and the cattleman's Law of the Open Range ruled. All this changed
when settlers pouring into the West under the Homestead Act of 1862
brought with them the Eastern farmer s concept of fencing in farms.
With the invention
and mass production of barbed wire in the 1870s, it soon became possible
for homesteaders to fence off millions of acres of what was once open
range. But barbed wire threatened the livelihood of the cattlemen
who depended on unfenced grasslands, and a clash of cultures was inevitable.
In a style that
will capture the interest of adult and teen readers, Barbed Wire:
The Fence That Changed the West reveals the surprisingly critical
role the invention of barbed wire played in the settling of America.
From the legal battles over barbed wire patents to the brutal fencing
wars that erupted on the frontier and the ultimate end of the open
range, author Joanne Liu tells the fascinating story of how a simple
twist of wire transformed a country's landscape and ushered in a new
way of life.
208
pages, Paperback, B&W, 6" x 9", © 2009
Order Number:
VAP300...........$14.00
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