cattle industry, early US

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In US history, the cattle industry that developed on the Great Plains after the end of the American Civil War (1861–65); the industry boomed rapidly until its sudden demise in the late 1880s. It started in 1866 with the long cattle drives undertaken by cowboys across the Plains from Texas to shipping points on the Transcontinental Railroad, and culminated in the open range system, where stock ranged over vast unfenced grazing grounds belonging to wealthy ranchers, or cattle barons. However, the industry's popularity contributed to its downfall as competition, over-supply, and over-grazing led to falling prices, and left the barons unable to withstand the decimation of their herds during the severe winter of 1886–87. After 1887 cattle ranching continued on the Great Plains, but on a smaller scale, with less cattle and fewer ranchers.

The rise and fall of the industry was linked to a number of factors in the history of the American West, including the Transcontinental Railroad, the Indian reservation system, the settlement of the homesteaders, and the work of enterprising individuals. Its growth was one of the reasons that the USA was able to take control of the region from the Plains Indians.

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