The Spirit of the American Cowboy
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Penned in the United States’ Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, this statement has been called, “one of the best-known sentences in the English language.” For Americans, this sentence is a reminder that we have the right to a happy, full life built upon the entrepreneurial spirit. As cattle producers, we live by this sentence everyday in our pursuit to raise a safe, wholesome product to feed the world, while also tending to the land and the livestock under our care. Much has changed in the course of history for beef cattle producers. How about a lesson on the spirit of the American Cowboy?
At the end of the American Civil War, Philip Danforth Armour opened a meat packing plant in Chicago, which became known as Armour and Company. By 1866, cattle could be sold to northern markets for as much as $40 per head, making it potentially profitable for cattle, particularly from Texas, to be herded long distances to market. In 1867, a cattle shipping facility was built west of farm country around the railhead at Abilene, Kansas, and became a center of cattle shipping, loading over 36,000 head of cattle that year. The route from Texas to Abilene became known as the Chisholm Trail, after Jesse Chisholm, who marked out the route.
While cowboys date back to the original vaqueros in Spain, the spirit and image of the American cowboy was solidified through Wild West Shows in the 1920’s that relived the trials and tribulations of the Texas cowboy driving cattle up to Chicago. Today, the image of a cowboy hat is still the symbol of American freedom and independence for people around the world. Today, I would like to wish all of you modern-day cowboys a Happy Independence Day! Enjoy your weekend with friends, family and barbecue! God Bless the American cowboy!
BEEF Dailiy Quick Fact: On average, a single herd of cattle on a drive numbered about 3,000 head in the late 1800’s. To herd the cattle, a crew of at least 10 cowboys was needed, with three horses per cowboy. Cowboys worked in shifts to watch the cattle 24 hours a day, herding them in the proper direction in the daytime and watching them at night to prevent stampedes and deter theft. (Source: Wikipedia)
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Great piece. The entrepreneurial spirit is in essence the pursuit of happiness, fueled by whatever financial and spiritual rewards come as a result of that pursuit. However, the Declaration of Independence is not saying we have a right to be happy, only the right to pursue happiness. This is not semantics, but critical to how our government should legislate. Stating that everyone has a right to be happy would require untold entitlement programs, which of course is not possible. Our founding fathers were very wise to make this distinction. Their intent was to level the playing field for everyone and then let them go to work pursuing happiness. That is the goal and the correct on in my opinion.
Keep up the good work. Let me know if there is any way I can help you. In the mean time I remain engaged in the pursuit.
Warm regards,
BMc
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Hey there Amanda,
When you find a spare minute, a book that you really need to read (provided you haven’t done so already) is called “Cattle: An Informal Social History” by Laurie Winn Carlson. This is probably my favorite book about beef cattle because unlike the various production textbooks it explains the symbiotic relationship that people have had with cattle through the ages.
One of the points that I found most interesting that was raised in the book was that groups that raised cattle and other grazing animals were substantially more difficult to govern and suppress than those that were farmers. The reason given for this was that when the farmers got land cleared enough to where they could grow crops on it, they were reluctant to leave and would begrudgingly endure some type of servitude or taxation from whichever monarchy controlled the area.
Conversely, grazers, were not tied to a particular area because their ability to feed themselves, and consequently their wealth, was on the hoof and could easily be moved from one location to another making it extremely difficult for them to be controlled, subdued, or taxed. While the grazers would do what they could to avoid conflict, if they were forced into a battle they were fearsome warriors. Examples of these groups include the Scots and the Irish, the Vikings (the real Vikings from Norway not the limp-wristed, incompetents from the Twin Cities that do battle on the gridiron), and the Dinka and Masai tribes from Africa. Part of the reason the groups that had cattle were such effective warriors may have been related to the fact that they were stronger and in better health because their diet was superior to those groups which had access to strictly a grain-based diet.
The figure which is quite often used to embody the spirit and character of the U. S. is that of the cowboy. In light of what I’ve just related, that seems kind of fitting as we get set to celebrate another Independence Day and as we think about all the other things that are going on in this country.
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