Editing Cimarron (novel) (section)

===The Land Rush===
{{main|Oklahoma Land Race}}
The [[Land Rush of 1889|Oklahoma Land Rush]] (also called the Oklahoma Land Race and [[Cherokee Strip]] [[Land Run]]) plays a pivotal role in both the novel and film adaptations. "[[Manifest destiny]]" and the desperation of the settlers involved in the rush provides the opening drama and sets the stage for the twists and turns in the book. Every settler is desperate to stake his claim on the best piece of land (near water).

[[Image:OkLandRush.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Photograph of the 1893 [[Oklahoma]] [[Oklahoma Land Race|Land Rush]], depicted in Ferber's book and films.]]

''Cimarron'' involves two land runs. [[Land Run of 1889|The first]], for the [[Unassigned Lands]], occurred on April 22, 1889. [[Land Run of 1893|The second]], for the Cherokee Outlet (commonly called the Cherokee Strip) occurred in 1893.  The piece of land in question had been allotted to the [[Cherokee Nation (19th century)|Cherokee Nation]] as part of the 1828 [[Treaty of New Echota]], while the rest of the [[Oklahoma Territory]] had been opened to settlers. As commerce grew across the area of [[Kansas]] and [[Oklahoma]], cattlemen became increasingly annoyed by the presence of the [[Cherokee]] on prime land that they wanted to use to drive cattle from northern ranches to [[Texas]]. Some of this annoyance with the Native people can be attributed to the decision made by the Cherokees to side with the [[Confederate States of America]] during the [[American Civil War]].  In the 1880s, the government attempted to lease the land for cattle ranching, but the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] refused. Eventually, the Cherokee people did sell the land to the government.

Throughout the remaining years of the 1880s various cattle associations and ranches fought over the land. Disputes even turned deadly, as large cattle companies and small ranchers both claimed the land as their own. This eventually led to a ban on cattle ranching in the area, and in 1893 the land, 58 miles (93&nbsp;km) wide by 225 miles (362&nbsp;km) long, was opened to homesteaders. The land was divided into 42,000 claims, and each [[Homestead Act|homesteader]] had to literally stake (put a stake with a white flag attached) their claim, and pick up a certificate back at the starting place. Nearly 100,000 people arrived for the rush, and over half of them would be sent back home after the day was through.