On this day, November the 24th, in the year of 1874, Joseph Glidden’s patent for barbed wire, wire which is fashioned with sharp barbs or razors, was approved.

When introduced, barbed wire was a key part in shaping the American West. Before its introduction, keeping one’s land (and the contents of one’s land, like cattle) was a rough job, as there was no real practical way of protection.

But as its popularity grew, once sprawling fields were segregated by the barbed wire, keeping farmers’ land safe, rolling back the role of cowboys (PERC) (National Archives).