Why were there conflicts between farmers and cattlemen in the West during the 1800s?

• A. Conflicts over access to gold mines discovered on farmland.
• B. Competition for government subsidies provided exclusively to cattlemen.
• C. Disagreements about the construction of railroads through cattle grazing areas.
• D. Disputes over land use, as farmers wanted to fence land for crops while cattlemen needed open ranges for grazing.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the historical context: In the 1800s American West, both farmers and cattlemen were expanding their economic activities, but their needs for land use were fundamentally different.
2. Identify the economic interests of each group: Farmers required land to be divided and fenced to cultivate crops, which meant exclusive use of specific plots of land.
3. Recognize the cattlemen's needs: Cattlemen depended on open ranges where cattle could graze freely over large, unfenced areas, which conflicted with fenced farmland.
4. Analyze the source of conflict: Since land was a scarce resource, the farmers' fencing restricted the open grazing areas cattlemen relied on, leading to disputes over how land should be used.
5. Conclude that the core issue was a resource allocation problem, where competing uses of land by farmers and cattlemen led to conflicts, rather than issues like gold mines, subsidies, or railroads.