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The Cowboys, 1860 to 1890
The era of the cowboy’s open range began around the 1860’s following the end of the civil war. Soldiers sought work, so they traveled west and became ranch hands, or “cowboys.” This era ended around 1890 with the introduction of barbed wire fences and meat packing plants moved closer to the ranches, making long cattle drives unnecessary.
Westward Expansion was at its greatest height. Americans sought to tame the wilderness into civilization by moving out of their established communities and taming the wild land out West. The West was composed of a myriad of people. There were the sodbusters who were the first to access the land in order to make it a livable environment. It was the sodbusters' job to claim the land, break the soil and turn the property into a farm that has economic value and growth. Once this was accomplished, properties were divided, towns were settled and railroads were established. There was great opportunity for economic growth with the abundance of land and improvement of transportation for goods. Although the frontier people did not speak in a formal manner, many, such as Davy Crockett, were intelligent and relied on their instinct and experience. The most distinguishing factor of the people in the frontier communities was their distinct and unique style of rhetoric and how it influenced their everyday lives.
This Was Followed by the Movie Star Cowboys
I can remember going to the movies in the late 1930's and early 1940's. We would see Hop Along Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and many more in a matinee movie.......the cost was ten cents. Popcorn was a nickle. It was the era of the silver screen cowboys. Western movies were tremendously popular with the American public. People like me in Eastern cities flocked to the cinema to see the myth of the West played out on the big screen. All Western movies contained the same basic formulaic elements: the heroic cowboy expunged all traces of evil from a frontier town, then won the girl in the end.
Americans realized that the frontier and the age of the living cowboy were dead, yet they were enthralled by the cowboy persona. The movie cowboy fulfilled the dreams of every American man and boy. The mass marketed cowboy was bold and virile. Each Western movie depicted the cowboy fulfilling the typical masculine ideal: he destroyed all evil forces, conquered his enemies, possessed tireless strength and physical skills, and always found love with a beautiful woman. The superficiality of the cowboy's image was the secret of his appeal. Americans idealized the Western hero because he did all that they fantasized about, but had no prospects of accomplishing.
From the early 60's to the late 70's, Cowboy TV series were very popular across the country and many Hollywood Producers were still making Cowboy Movies as well. Even today, re-runs of the TV series are popular and many of the movies are a hit on Netflix. While most everything is in color now, I will never forget the last of the Silver Screen Cowboys.