The Wild West
Short History Of...
00:00
The Origins of the Cowboy
The image of the cowboy, I think, evolved into the ideal or quintessential American persona. He represented a lot of different things that merge a lot of the principles and values of a typical American. Cowboy spent weeks riding out on the open range, so he had to be self-sufficient. New railways are another nail in the cowboy coffin. There's little need for driving cattle over long distances to market when there are trains criss-crossing the country.
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