The Role of Railroad Companies, Farmers, and Cowboys in the Development

The 1880s proved to be a time of change for America. High unemployment rates and low wages in many cities forced many to look to new opportunities in cities and elsewhere. This included the newly expanded west. In the 1880s Kansas had three dominating groups- railroad companies, farmers, and cowboys. All three dealt with individual triumphs and struggles when developing the West and specifically Kansas in the later part of the 19th century. Railroads spent most of the 1880s concerned with previous legislation, farmers worried about land allotment and surviving on the Plains. Cowboys also worried about land allotment and surviving. The worries of the last two created some tension between them but in the end survival of one depended on the survival of the other. Insuring their place in history, the three groups together made the expansion of the West possible and forever changed the face of Kansas. The 1880s was a time of substantial change for Kansas and railroads, which were very important to the development of Kansas. As many historians say â€Å"rails didn’t build Kansas City, but they carried almost everything that did† (Worley 1). While most of the legislation that affected the railroads had taken place at some point prior to this time period, it was now coming full swing and affecting the settlers now. In May of 1854, the Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed. Although mostly known for repealing the Missouri Compromise it also gave â€Å"the railroads the right to build a railroad system from Chicago to the Pacific Coast† (Kansas- Nebraska Act 1). With this new access to land, railroad companies began building cross-country railroads. New settlers and merchants knew that railroads were the up and coming mode of transportation and a vit... ... University of Chicago Press, 1988. Miner, Craig. West of Wichita. University Press of Kansas, 1986. Nelson, Oliver. The Cowman’s Southwest. Glendale, CA: The Arthur H Clark Company, 1957. 19th Century Legal Treatise. A Letter from Honorable William Whiting to Honorable Henry Wilson, of the U.S. of senate ) microform: showing that the government is bound to fulfil in good faith its contract with the Central BranchUnion Pacific R.R. Company. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1870. Ostler, Jeffrey. â€Å"The Rhetoric of Conspiracy and The Formation of Kansas Populism.† Agricultural History1995 69 (1): 1-27. â€Å"Populist Platform of 1892†. Online. Internet 30, June 1998. White, Richard. â€Å"It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own†. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993. Worley, William Dr. Online. KC Railroads Timeline. Internet.