Answer:
The statement that BEST describes the purposes of the cattle drives that left Texas in the late 1800s is A) Cattle were driven to railroads to be shipped to major cities in the North.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the late 1800s, Texas was home to large numbers of cattle, but there was limited local demand for beef. To take advantage of the high demand for beef in the northern cities, cattle drives were organized to transport herds of cattle to the nearest railheads, which were often hundreds of miles away. From there, the cattle were loaded onto trains and shipped to the major cities in the North.
Although there were some efforts to drive cattle westward to supply food to the population of California, the vast majority of cattle drives were focused on supplying beef to the booming population of the northern cities. Similarly, while some cattle were shipped overseas from ports like New Orleans, this was a relatively small part of the cattle industry during this time period.