Symbols of the Old West are almost unquestionably associated with the right wing in this day-in-age. Yet the real history of the Wild West is more complicated. Take the 19th century Fence Cutting Wars in Texas, a state-wide, interracial armed movement against the encroachments of big ranchers backed up by the Texas Rangers in instating a new regime of private property on the territory. David Griscom, host of the Left Reckoning podcast, joins The Marc Steiner Show for a discussion on this little-known but deeply influential episode in Texan and US socialist history.
Studio / Post-Production: David Hebden
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"Cattle" is derived from "chattel," the French term for movable property that was used to describe African slaves and women in the 1800's.
It's worth considering, beyond the relations of capital, how reducing living beings to "livestock" has coincided with the destruction of almost six football fields of prairie in the United States every hour and is now responsible for 80% of deforestation. In fact, grazing cows on native lands was a purposeful strategy of cultural genocide in Northern California (in addition to indigenous people being directly enslaved on ranches). We should recognize all living beings as locked in the same struggle as humans against the ownership class
I remember reading a Donald Duck comic about a young Scrooge McDuck tearing down barbed wires when he was still a cowboy in the American Midwest, when I was in middle school back in China (where I grew up).
Heavens Gate translated to Texas
songs: Don't fence me in, Git along little doggie…
Wowzers this will be fun to listen too. Each time i say we are socialist in most of Europe i get the comment we are communists. Seems to be a large misconception and a failure in education when American people don't know the difference between China and Europe. 😊⤠edit# Why is this so important part of your national history not known by the majority of the citizens? Wow what a failure. I really hope you get this wide spread around the state's department. So you'll can get a better life instead off the one you have now. â¤
If this, the stories of the 19th century US workers who believed "those who work the mills should own them", and the rest of the history of working-class movements and communities across the country were taught at American schools instead of the ideologised parody of history they are fed now, there would be much less of the self-defeating reactionary currents in the population that are so successfully used by the neo-feudal capitalist class in their stranglehold of the economy and prevention of workplace democracy.
They sound more like libertarians than communists. They didnt raise the cattle then give them away
The film Open Range, with Kevin Costner; touched on this desire for Free Ranges and land being boxed in.
Cowboys are socialists. Conspiracy theorists are socialist. US is a closet full of socialists.
Enclosure of the commons
Fascinating story. Thanks to both of you.
â¤
Calling John Sayles!
Bro these texas fat cats' grandkids are doing the same thing here in idaho now
wyatt earp a democrat sheriff ran a prostitution ring in the cowboy days.. they were pretty unholy to say the least..
TEXAS TALIBAN WANTS
TO EXPORT ITS JIHAD
TO THE REST OF AMERICA
Great stuff!!! And yes. Would that EVER make a good movie!!! Better than another Spider-Man reboot. 🤨
For a history of agrarian radicalism in Texas check out the book Toward a Cooperative Commonwealth: The Transplanted Roots of Farmer-Labor Radicalism in Texas. History of German 48ers, Greenback Labor Party, Farmers' Alliance, Knights of Labor, Populist movement, Texas Socialist Party, Mexican revolutionaries, and the Nonpartisan League in Texas.
Great story! I had no idea. Of course we never were taught any of that.
So back in the day, the fight was against the "foreign capitalists". That would be the robber barons who indeed were the bad guys, because if you notice…we have the same thing going on today. Look at what is happening now in Hawaii. Wiping out the indigenous, stealing their land through man made catastrophes, and owning the media to rule the narrative using censorship and name calling to create chaos and division. Makes you go hmmm…they change history and landscape of the land with their money and lies. What about the monopolies we have now? No one is noticing? Serious question.
The Texan revolution and secession from the union to became the independent socialist republic of Texas, with a defence pact with Cuba and an oil cartel with Venezuela
This is a bit of a stretch. By no means were these guys "Socialist." They were free grazers holding out for the days of the open range. Today they'd be branded as "Deploreables" for trying to preserve the older order and push back against corporate consolidation. That in itself is part of an overall dynamic that led to the Granger Movement in the 1870s, and later the Populist movement of Weaver. (itself a consolidation of the Farmers Aliiance).
The Bundy's took the same stance with the USFS and BLM. They were widely reviled by the modern faux-literati as dirty rednecks.
Even more ironic is current lefty attempts to restrict grazing allotments in the national forest system, hurling all kinds of nonsense without any sort of understanding of all the things that go into it. Which is par for the course.
Got to say there are some fun alternate history thought experiments about what if Karl Marx had been allowed to migrate to Texas like he wanted.