Editing Barbed wire (section)

=== In the American West ===
[[file:Salsola tragus tumbleweed.jpg|thumb|A [[rangeland]] fence which has caught a [[tumbleweed]]]]

Barbed wire was important in protecting range rights in the Western U.S. Although some ranchers put notices in newspapers claiming land areas, and joined [[stockgrowers association]]s to help enforce their claims, livestock continued to cross range boundaries. Fences of smooth wire did not hold stock well, and hedges were difficult to grow and maintain. Barbed wire's introduction in the West in the 1870s dramatically reduced the cost of enclosing land.<ref name=Anderson>{{cite book|title=Free Market Environmentalism|author1=Anderson, Terry Lee |author2=Leal, Donald |name-list-style=amp |pages=30–31|year=2001|publisher=0-312-23503-8}}</ref> [[file:Rusty Barbed Wire.jpg|thumb|Rusted barbed wire in a roll]]

One fan wrote the inventor [[Joseph Glidden]]:
:it takes no room, exhausts no soil, shades no vegetation, is proof against high winds, makes no snowdrifts, and is both durable and cheap.<ref>See [http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joseph-glidden-applies-for-a-patent-on-his-barbed-wire-design "1873: Joseph Glidden applies for a patent on his barbed wire design" ''History Channel'' ]</ref>

Barbed wire emerged as a major source of conflict with the so-called "[[Winter of 1886–1887|Big Die Up]]" incident in the 1880s. This occurred because of the instinctual migrations of cattle away from the blizzard conditions of the Northern Plains to the warmer and plentiful Southern Plains, but by the early 1880s this area was already divided and claimed by ranchers. The ranchers in place, especially in the Texas Panhandle, knew that their holdings could not support the grazing of additional cattle, so the only alternative was to block the migrations with barb wire fencing.<ref>{{Harvnb|McCallum|1965}}, p.&nbsp;131.</ref>

Many of the herds were decimated in the winter of 1885, with some losing as many as three-quarters of all animals when they could not find a way around the fence. Later other smaller scale cattlemen, especially in central [[Texas]], opposed the closing of the open range, and began cutting fences to allow cattle to pass through to find grazing land. In this transition zone between the agricultural regions to the south and the rangeland to the north, conflict erupted, with vigilantes joining the scene causing chaos and even death. The [[Fence Cutting Wars]] ended with the passage of a Texas law in 1884 that made fence cutting a felony. Other states followed, although conflicts occurred through the early years of the 20th century.<ref>{{harvnb|McCallum|1965}}, pp.&nbsp;165–166.</ref> An 1885 federal law forbade placing such fences across the public domain.<ref name=Anderson/>

Barbed wire is cited by historians as the invention that tamed the West. Herding large numbers of cattle on open range required significant manpower to catch strays. Barbed wire provided an inexpensive method to control the movement of cattle. By the beginning of the 20th century, large numbers of [[cowboy]]s were unnecessary.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-02-mn-14602-story.html |title=Honoring the Wire That Won the West |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=26 October 2015 |date=2000-09-02}}</ref>