Cimarron (novel)

Cimarron is a novel by Edna Ferber, published in 1929 and based on development in Oklahoma after the Land Rush. The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film of the same name in 1931 through RKO Pictures. In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen by MGM, to meager success.

The Oklahoma Land Rush (also called the Oklahoma Land Race and Cherokee Strip Land Run) plays a pivotal role in both the novel and film adaptations. "Manifest destiny" and the desperation of the settlers involved in the rush provides the opening drama and sets the stage for the twists and turns in the book. Every settler is desperate to stake his claim on the best piece of land (near water).

Cimarron involves two land runs. The first, for the Unassigned Lands, occurred on April 22, 1889. The second, for the Cherokee Outlet (commonly called the Cherokee Strip) occurred in 1893. The piece of land in question had been allotted to the Cherokee Nation as part of the 1828 Treaty of New Echota, while the rest of the Oklahoma Territory had been opened to settlers. As commerce grew across the area of Kansas and Oklahoma, cattlemen became increasingly annoyed by the presence of the Cherokee on prime land that they wanted to use to drive cattle from northern ranches to Texas. Some of this annoyance with the Native people can be attributed to the decision made by the Cherokees to side with the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. In the 1880s, the government attempted to lease the land for cattle ranching, but the Native Americans refused. Eventually, the Cherokee people did sell the land to the government.

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