Editing Tombstone, Arizona (section)

===Early conflicts===
{{further|Cochise County in the Old West|Cochise County Cowboys}}
[[File:A Tombstone Sheriff And Constituents - Pg-494.jpg|thumb|upright|Tombstone sheriff and constituents, an illustration from the March 1884 edition of ''[[Harper's New Monthly Magazine]]''<ref name=harper1888/>{{rp|497}}]]
[[File:Southeast Cochise County 1880.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of southeastern Cochise County, including Tucson and Tombstone, in 1880]]
Under the surface were other tensions aggravating the simmering distrust. Most of the Cowboys were [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] sympathizers and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] from Southern states, especially Texas. The mine and business owners, miners, townspeople and city lawmen including the Earps were largely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Northern states]]. There was also the fundamental conflict over resources and land, with traditional, Southern-style "[[small government]]" [[agrarianism]] of the rural Cowboys contrasted to Northern-style "big-government" development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.theautry.org/2010/04/28/the-o-k-corral-documents/ |title=The O.K. Corral Documents |date=April 28, 2010 |access-date=February 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713003618/http://blog.theautry.org/2010/04/28/the-o-k-corral-documents/ |archive-date=July 13, 2012  }}</ref>

In the early 1880s, smuggling and [[cattle raiding|theft of cattle]], alcohol, and tobacco across the U.S./Mexico border about {{convert|30|mi}} from Tombstone were common. The Mexican government taxed these items heavily and smugglers earned a handsome profit by sneaking these products across the border. The illegal cross-border smuggling contributed to the lawlessness of the region. Many of these crimes were carried out by outlaw elements labeled "[[Cochise County Cowboys|Cow-boys]]", a loosely organized band of friends and acquaintances who teamed up for various crimes and came to each other's aid. The ''San Francisco Examiner'' wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys [are] the most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country...infinitely worse than the ordinary robber."<ref name=linder2005>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earpaccount.html |first=Douglas O. |last=Linder |year=2005 |title=The Earp-Holliday Trial: An Account |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113175200/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earpaccount.html |archive-date=January 13, 2011  }}</ref> At that time during the 1880s in Cochise County it was an insult to call a legitimate cattleman a "Cowboy". Legitimate cowmen were referred to as cattle herders or ranchers.<ref name="stone">{{cite web| url=http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/TStone.html| title=History of Old Tombstone |access-date=February 7, 2011 |publisher=Discover Arizona}}</ref> The Cowboys were nonetheless welcome in town because of their free-spending habits, but shootings were common.