Fact and Fiction: Cowboys in the American West
Examine the following portrayals of Cowboys in the American West and answer the accompanying questions:
Topic Clip Textbook Info (p. 414-417)
Horses and Cattle What are the cowboys chasing? What country did horses come to
America from?
What length are they going to chase What type of horses were the best?
these creatures?
Mexican Influences Who are the 3 men the cowboy’s What influences did Mexican culture
talking to? have on the cowboys?
How are those 3 men portrayed? What words from Spanish have
became a part of the cowboy
vocabulary?
Railroads N/A What happened to the demand for
beef after the Civil War?
What effect did the increase in
railroads have on the market for
cattle?
Joseph McCoy and the Trails What was Will Anderson about to What role did Joseph McCoy have in
start when he lost all his cowhands? organizing the West?
What is the goal of Anderson and What was the Chisholm Trail and
his boys? how was it used?
Cowboys’ Personal Belongings What did the hat symbolize to the What tools and personal belongings
man standing at the table? were most important to actual
cowboys?
Subculture/Skills N/A Were cowboys ethnically diverse?
Explain.
The Experts What are the two men in this clip Who were Wild Bill Hickok and
doing? Calamity Jane?
Do they seem experienced at it? What were they experts at?
Spring Time N/A What job did cowboys have in the
Spring?
The Long Drive How does this trailer portray Describe the Long Drive and the
cowboys and their work ethic? work that cowboys’ experience with
it.
The End of the Cowboy At the beginning of the clip, who What brought an end to the Cowboy
does the man from Ireland complain Era?
about?
What does he do to get revenge
against these people?
Omnivore’s Dilemma Questions (answer on separate sheet):
1. Compare the natural versus the industrial diets for the cows we process into beef in the US.
2. What effects on human health might be caused by this dietary shift and the accompanying use
of medications on beef cattle?
3. How do you think the era of the cowboy and their role in herding evolved into this sort of modern food
processing system?
Katie Cheat Sheet for Clips
Horses and Cattle
Man from Snowy River The Descent- corralling horses
Mexican influences
Magnificent 7 trailer 1960 – talking to mexicans
Railroads
Couldn’t find anything good
Joseph mccoy and the trails
The cowboys trailer (1972)
The truth/stuff: bandanna, saddle, coffee
It shouldn’t have taken 4 of you from el dorado- importance of hat to personal legacy
Subculture/skills: diversity, value
Nothing good
Experts: bill hickcok, calamity jane
The good the bad and the ugly - duel
Spring: what happened
Nothing good
The long drive: ranchshipping yards
True grit (1969) trailer - lazy, drunk cowboys
End of the cowboy: overgrazing, barbed wire
Open range final shootout (part 3)- man curses freegrazers, fight begins