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GCSE History · key term
Wire fitted with sharp points, used to make fences that contain livestock and protect land.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Paper 2
Revise: Changes in Farming and SettlementIn 1874, Joseph Glidden developed barbed wire, providing a quick and cheap alternative to timber fencing. By the 1880s, improvements made it a strong, widely used method of enclosing land.
Paper 3
Wire fitted with sharp points, used to make fences that kept roaming animals away from crops.
Explain the link between a development and its impact: cheap barbed wire allowed land to be fenced, which helped replace open-range grazing with enclosed ranches.
Keep the chronology clear. Turkey Red wheat arrived in 1873 and barbed wire was developed in 1874, so these were not available to the earliest homesteaders.
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Barbed wire, developed in 1874, offered a cheaper alternative to wooden fencing. It helped protect fields from roaming animals without requiring large quantities of scarce timber.