The document discusses the closing of the open range in the American West. It describes how barbed wire, invented by Joseph Glidden in the 1870s, made large-scale fencing inexpensive and easy, allowing farmers and ranchers to fence off their land. This led to the disappearance of the open range cattle kingdom as lands became enclosed by fences. It also caused conflicts known as range wars between small landowners and large cattle outfits over issues like blocked roads and fenced water sources. By the 1880s, many states had passed laws against fence cutting and regulating fencing rights in an attempt to resolve range disputes. Overgrazing, expanded farming and ranching, railroads, and other factors also contributed to the end of