Barbed wire, which ended up of the open range system, caused riots between cowboys and ranchers since it led to high unemployment rates. Barbed Wire was used as a fencing material and turned the open plains into enclosures which changed the Western economy and society during the 1800s. Although barbed wired could be used for isolating cattle as well as controlling breeding, conflicts started to arise between ranchers and cowboys. Ranchers began to fence with barbed wire not only their own land but also the open range, while cowboys as well as new settlers claimed those lands which were in the public domain. This situation had a great impact on the economy of those times since it produced high unemployment rates due to the fact that cowboys lost the possibility of breeding their cattle on the open lands.
