ABSTRACT
By the 1840s Americans had pushed as far west as California and Oregon. In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican American War, Mexico ceded almost a third of its territory to the United States. Many families migrated west, dreaming of bettering their lives through independent farming or ranching. Because ranches tended to be larger than farms, women on ranches were usually more isolated from female support networks than women on farms. Ranching women were also more likely to be left alone for long periods of time, as their husbands moved herds from one location to another.
