Answer:
A huge drop in stock markets. Companies being to fail, causing workers to be laid off. Thus, causes the worker to not have money for food for them/their family, which may result in death.
The essence of open range was the free grazing of cattle on millions of unfenced acres of public land. It was possible to become wealthy raising cattle without owning any acreage. Although most ranchers owned a base operation, some owned millions of acres. America's open range started with the Civil War [1861-1865].
C. Inevitable
They were going to need to expand any way because they were running out of room on the East coast
Mediterranean Sea is the answer.