Intro 1: Guerilla fighter, bank robber, outlaw - these are all words used to describe Jesse James.
Newspapers couldn't get enough of Jesse James and his gang during the 1870s.
The famed Wild West figure is known for his criminal acts and untimely death, but during his
life, James was considered a hero. Even a Robin Hood, of sorts. In his own words, James either
justified his actions or attempted to exonerate himself - ultimately engaging in the larger legacy
that would develop well after his death as a hero who fought against injustice and oppression.
Whether or not Jesse James actually saw himself as a hero is unknowable, but he helped construct what
would come to be his legacy as one. Between 1869 and 1881, Jesse James is believed to
have committed 19 robberies. This included banks, trains, and stagecoaches in an area that extended
from Minnesota to Mississippi. It's estimated that Jesse James and his associates stole
roughly $200,000, most of which they kept for themselves. Along the way, 20 people were killed,
a figure that leaves out any of the lives he may have taken during the Civil War. However as most
of his victims were rich and bourgeois class of a divided America, Jesse became popular as
an avenger among common folk. Descriptions of his crimes were framed as heroic, while there
were reports of him righting the wrongs taking place in late-19th century America. Born Jesse
Woodson James in 1847, the future outlaw grew up in Missouri. At the time, Missouri was settled
by transplants from Tennessee and Kentucky, earning it the reputation as Little Dixie.
Jesse had several siblings, notably his older brother, Frank. By the time the Civil War began
in 1861, James's brother, Frank, was actively fighting on behalf of the Confederate cause.
Frank later joined a group of guerilla fighters led by William Quantrill.
Known as Quantrill's Raiders, the men were among the most violent in the Border Territories.
When the Union got word of Frank joining the Bushwackers, a federal militia arrived at James'
farm to find only young Jesse and his stepfather Samuel. Despite being tortured and brutally beaten
up, Jesse refused to give up information about his brother Frank but his stepfather Samuel gave in.
This early event sold contempt for authority enabled in Jesse’s heart.
Jesse, too, became a member of Quantrill's Raiders
and, in 1864, became a member of William "Bloody Bill" Anderson's bushwacker group with Frank.
The James brothers were said to have participated in massacres throughout the region, going so far
as to scalp and dismember the Union troops they killed. As the Civil War came to an end,
Jesse suffered the second of two chest wounds that threatened his life. His cousin, known as Zee,
took care of him and the two entered a nine year courtship that later resulted in marriage.
As he recovered in Missouri, the animosity and violence between pro- and anti-slavery factions
remained intense. He remained in contact with the last of his war-time commanders, Archie Clement,
and joined up with Clement after his health returned. Clement died in 1866,
leaving an opening for James to assume command of the remaining Southern sympathizers. With no war
to fight, Jesse and fellow fighters turned their attention to criminal activities. This was largely
a reaction to what they perceived to be unjust post-Civil War legislation. They targeted banks,
stage coaches, and trains owned by Northern "aggressors" - gaining attention from government
officials and the media alike. The James brothers joined forces with Cole Younger and his brothers,
creating the James-Younger Gang. The James-Younger Gang continued robbing - expanding their reach
from Iowa to West Virginia to Texas. They didn't shy away from the public eye, robbing in broad
daylight and engaging directly with onlookers. As their reputation grew, the governor of Missouri,
Thomas Crittenden, put a reward out for Jesse James and all of the members of his gang.
As local authorities and the newly enlisted Pinkerton National Detective Agency pursued the
James-Younger Gang, several members of the James family and the gang itself died or were taken into
custody. After a failed robbery in 1876, Jesse and Frank were more or less on their own. Frank took
a break, while Jesse formed a new gang. The James brothers and their new recruits returned to a life
of crime in 1879. Between 1879 and 1881, the James gang moved through Mississippi and Tennessee.
Jesse returned to his native Missouri in 1881, while Frank retired to Virginia. As Jesse became
increasingly suspicious of his gang members, he spent most of his time with Charley and
Robert Ford. It was the latter who shot and killed Jesse in his own living room in 1882.
Newspapers couldn't get enough of Jesse James and his gang during the 1870s.
Generally speaking, newspapers offered their readers three types of James-related content:
descriptions of his crime, praise and celebration of his actions,
and letters penned by James. Some accounts of robberies carried out by James provided insightful
details and commentary on the crime. After the bank robbery in Gallentin, Missouri, in 1869,
the Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce, described the murder of the cashier, Mr. Sheets.
Sheets was shot in the head and the chest by the outlaws during a robbery that had,
"boldness and recklessness...almost beyond belief." Nearly a decade later, in 1876, the same
newspaper described the James-Younger "boys" as having carried out robberies, "all executed in the
same way, and with a cool and desperate courage which but few men are capable of...no common
thieves or vulgar robbers, but had an ambition to make themselves famous in, as they termed it,
'a fair, square and honorable' way of doing such things…." In 1874, the Lexington Caucasian equated
the actions of the James-Younger Gang members with medieval knight-errantry and modern brigandage…and
wild romance."James seized upon the notion that he and his gang were heroes - rebels
against injustice and political wrongdoing. James welcomed having a forum to defend himself and
explain his actions, too. Jesse sent a letter to Missouri governor Joseph McClurg as early as 1870,
insisting he would not be able to get a fair trial but insisted he would surrender should it be
possible. He denied accusations that he had done anything but live peacefully since the Civil War,
insisting claims he'd been involved in fights and shootings as nothing more than "a
pack of falsehoods." Two years later, another letter from Jesse (historians believe it was him,
although there was no signature), was published. It put forth questions to the masses, framed his
actions as noble, and blamed the government for his inability to "make an honest living."
Here's some of what it said: A great many say that we, the robbers, deserve hanging. What have we
done to be hung for?.... Just let a party of men commit a bold robbery, and the cry is hang them,
but President Ulysses Grant and his party can steal millions, and it is all right. It is true,
we are robbers, but we always rob in the glare of the day and in the teeth of the multitude;
and we never kill only in self-defense, without men refuse to open their vaults and safes to us,
and when they refuse to unlock to us we kill…. We are not thieves -- we are bold robbers.
It hurts me very much to be called a thief….they rob the poor and rich,
and we rob the rich and give to the poor. On one occasion, James reportedly took refuge in
the home of an elderly woman - there were always people willing to help him - only
to learn that she was going to lose her home to the bank the following day. Reportedly,
James gave the woman money to pay her mortgage, later robbing the banker after he collected it.
There were also reports that James and his fellow outlaws never took money or possessions from
poor passengers on the trains they robbed. He'd inspect their hands and, if they showed signs of
calluses and work, no "donation" was taken. The truth in these stories remains lost to history.
To the public, James was fighting for the common man, taking on injustices of all kinds.
This was especially true for Southerners still struggling with the loss of the Civil War.
When stories about the James brothers and their exploits were turned into late 19th
century dime novels, James' reputation as a champion for the people continued to grow.
Dime novels entertained the masses with tales of romance and adventure. Fictional stories about
James portrayed him as kind to the common man, yet defiant of overreaching authorities and greedy
railroad companies - just like Robin Hood had done centuries before. During the early 20th century,
movies perpetuated the lore around James. With an increasing number of interpretations
of and stories about James - many of which incorporated details from James' real life -
the line between man and myth was soon blurred beyond recognition. It's impossible to know
if Jesse James undertook acts of altruism and generosity alongside his criminous, violent deeds.
In the letter from 1872, there's a clear indication that James (if he, in fact,
wrote it) presented himself as a victim of injustice. Does this negate his crime
and violence? What do you think? Was Jesse James a hero? A Robin Hood in the Wild West?
Let us know in the comments and make sure to like and subscribe! Thanks for watching Nutty History!