Barbed Wire Fencing And Its Effects On The American West

The American West was a place that defined us as a country, and for it to be able to do that, it required change. When people first started to move and settle in the West, everything was as free and open as it could be. There was endless space full of tall grasses in which cattle could openly graze as they pleased. Something that helped to change this landscape into what it has become today is barbed wire. Barbed wire is a type of fencing, and it greatly affected the plains. It also caused major conflicts called Range Wars.
Barbed wire fencing is a type of steel fencing that prevents cattle or other livestock from either entering, or exiting a certain area. It is a rather inexpensive form of fencing and is relatively easy to place as well. It consists of placing posts a certain width from one another, and tightly wound between each post is steel wire. At certain distances throughout the wire, there are also sharp points/ edges, so as to prevent cattle from just running the fence over. It is widely used on the Western plains to separate ranches’ livestock, while still allowing the cattle to have plenty of grazing room.

Smith was the original inventor of barbed wire when he issued his patent in 1867, but it was not until Joseph Glidden made his own modifications in 1874 that the version of barbed wire that we have today became available. The invention of barbed wire came about due to the need for easily place-able fencing in the vast plains of the West. At first farmers and cattlemen simply allowed their cattle to roam freely around the plains and graze for themselves. But, as more people began to settle, the need arose for a way to separate land. Joseph Glidden began to use barbed wire as an experiment on his own ranch, and later others followed his