Cattle Kingdom follows the industrialization of cattle throughout the United States. Knowlton documents the immense speculation and boom or bust periods experienced by individuals and towns. The characterization of the west made urban dwellers romanticize the land of cowboys, but this characterization diverges from the reality of the brutal work required to raise and sell cattle on barren land. 

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the development of the western United States and the innovations required to service the cattle industry. I especially liked the window into the founding of towns with rail stations specifically built to transport cattle and service ranch hands.

Favorite Quotes:

“Thanks to the cattle kingdom and its rapid-fire efforts to codify the raising, slaughtering, and transporting of cattle, the country took a giant step closer to becoming a predominantly industrial society.”

“From the outset, these earlier establishments were well known for serving rotgut liquors, often a toxic mix of whiskey, tobacco, molasses, and red peppers known as Forty Rod, Tangle Leg, Tarantula Juice, Coffin Varnish, Taos Lightning, or Bust Head.”

“But from another perspective—this author’s—the events leading up to 1893 tell us less about the closing of the frontier and more about the economic evolution of the nation and its market economy. By means of substantial financial investments and the establishment of numerous cattle towns, the great cattle boom encouraged and accelerated the settlement, development, and industrialization of a vast open terrain, while kick-starting its biggest industry—meatpacking.” 

“The events of the cattle era mark a key moment in the maturation of the nation: the domestication of the Wild West. The inroads that the trappers and the miners made into the untamed rangelands were dwarfed by the transformations created by the railroads and the livestock ranchers, which in turn attracted the homesteaders.”