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Lecture 6 was entitled "Ways and habits of the West". Dr. Isern started this lecture by discussing the traditional story of the great plains. This included the Spanish roots of open-range cattle industry which resulted in a surplus of cattle. This surplus of cattle was doing nothing for the ranchers so Joseph McCoy proposed driving the cattle north to the open plains. This lead to change from cattle towns to farm towns. For this transition to occur law and order, quarantine, and herd law were important factors. This lead us into the expansion of the cattle kingdom where free air of the open prairie, pools, and how water defined land usage gave many up and coming cowboys a chance to expand the cattle kingdom. We then moved into how Canadians ranched. Dr. Isern discussed how the Canadian framework was driven by politics, economics, and social patterns. This is contrasted with the American framework of culture and technology; separating the two even more. Dr. Isern then talked about how the end of the open range came through slack cattle market, barbed wire and herd laws, and synthesis of livestock and cropping. Then came fenced ranching, which revolutionized the way ranching would be conducted from then on out. It lead to purebred herds and haymaking for winter feed. Also, during this time pasture burning came into play which allowed new grass to grow for next summer. Soon technology came to farming with ground water irrigation,hybrid cattle and grain which lead to a surplus in capital.
I don't come from a farming background and so the lecture wasn't that interesting to me. Part of the lecture that I did enjoy was how something so simple as putting up a fence can completely revolutionize the way people lived their lives. If there is one question I could ask for this lecture it would be was there much opposition during the shift from cattle town to farm town?