From invention to monopoly : the history of the consolidation of the barbed wire industry, 1873-1899
Publication Date
1968
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of History
Abstract
As westward settlement accelerated in the years following the Civil War, farmers and stockmen were confronted with a serious fencing problem. A combination of high costs, inadequate materials, and obsolete laws made fencing ones properties an expensive and difficult proposition. By the l870s the topic had been widely debated in the agricultural press, and many efforts had been made at finding a solution. The credit for developing a practical solution to the problem of fencing goes to Joseph Glidden. In DeKalb, Illinois, in 1873, Joseph Glidden was struck with the thought of arming a wire fence with a protruding barb held in place by twisting two wires together. Glidden perfected his "barbed wire," acquired a partner, and began to mass produce his new fence. The fence spread rapidly and by 1880 Glidden*s inventive genius had resolved the problem of finding an inexpensive and effective fence.
Recommended Citation
McFadden, Joseph M., "From invention to monopoly : the history of the consolidation of the barbed wire industry, 1873-1899" (1968). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 6769.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/6769
Extent
vi, 251 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
