Life After the War
After the Civil War, Jesse James and his brother recruited members of the disbanded guerrilla gangs to form their own gang, The James Gang. He and The James Gang started to involve themselves in robbery.
- The robberies began as small-scale operations
- The gang was in and out of the building quickly after attaining the money
- However, they quickly escalated from banks to what became their specialty, Trains
- They did not hesitate to shoot or harm anyone who stood in their way
The First Train Robbery
A typical train robbery scenario
- On the 21st of July, 1873, Jesse James and his infamous gang committed their first train robbery
- There were many to come afterward but from that robbery alone, they gained $6,000
- They had not just stolen the money, but had let the engineer die from being crushed underneath the engine
- Later train robberies would range from attaining close to nothing, all the way up to $55,000
Media
Newspaper headlines about the
notorious criminals
notorious criminals
- Although the James Gang murdered people during robbery, Jesse befriended reporters and spun their stories in his favor
- He claimed that he only killed in self-defense, only robbed the rich and gave to the poor, and only harmed those of the Union
- These accounts by the media were a major factor in his image as a hero
- Most famous of these accounts was the Robin Hood letter, written by James himself
Influence on Media: Robin Hood Letter
A Letter Written By Jesse James:
A notorious criminal, robbing and murdering all around the South, Jesse James still encouraged the heroic image of himself, even though no evidence of his heroic actions existed.
The Letter
In one instance, he describes a time when he 'accidentally' shot a little girl in the midst of a robbery. (No proof if it was accidental or on purpose)
The Letter
- Defends why James call himself and his band "Bold Robbers"
- He claims to be noble and "rob the rich and give to the poor" (though there is no actual evidence of this)
In one instance, he describes a time when he 'accidentally' shot a little girl in the midst of a robbery. (No proof if it was accidental or on purpose)
- The letter conveys his deepest apologies and requests the address of the little girl's family to send money for her care
the_robin_hood_letter.docx | |
File Size: | 214 kb |
File Type: | docx |
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