The Legend Of Jesse james

The true story of Jesse James is quite remarkable, and upon seeing the show of his life presented last night on the PBS show American Experience, I felt quite moved by it. Because James's life to an extent speaks to our own time, and to the peculiarities of American culture and legend.

He and his brother Frank were of course more than just outlaws, they were originally confederate guerillas during the civil war. They fought under the command of William Quantrill and took part in the massacre of Lawrence Kansas. They also fought under "bloody" Bill Anderson and saw action in the bloody Centralria massacre, in which they took part in the bloodiest imaginable atrocities involving torture and mutilation.

At this time, Jesse was about the age of fifteen or sixteen. Such was the nature of warfare in Missouri, however, that by the time he took part in this event, it was likely to have had little effect on him, as violence and bloodshed had been a regular part of his life for some two or three years, in fact throughout the war.

Of course, that war ended, upon which the confederates and their sympathizers found themselves on the outs. Their properties were taken in a great many cases by carpetbaggers, and they were denied the right to hold public office. Moreover, even though they were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the victorious Union, a great many of them were marked men. They were obliged to keep a low profile or risk beign murdered in retaliation for a great many of their former acions, or for the mere fact of association.

Missouri, you see, was not actually a confederate state, it had opted to remain in the Union. Yet, like Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, it remained a slave state. Therfore, though technically loyal to the Union, the slave holders found themselves targeted well before the war by the more radical Repulican abolitionists. The end of the war did not bring any true measure of peace, only Republican domination.

Jesse himself was shot after the war, and it was during a long period of recuperation that he became an outlaw. As such, he was, as he had been as a guerilla fighter, a cold blooded murderer in addition to being a thief.

But as fate would have it, he attracted the attention of of a Kansas City journalist by the name of John Newman Edwards, who was the man repsoonsible for the James brothers myths. He portrayed james as the protector of confederate virtues, and more importantly, as a confederate avenger, who himself had been wronged and was just acting in a need to protect his own rights as a wronged Missourrian, harrassed by the forces of the Union occupation forces.

James played up to this, and in a good many of his train roberries, refused to rob the passengers on the trains, limiting himself to the money in the safes being transported by the banks. The banks and the railoads were seen as the villainous agents of the North by the people in Missouri, and increasingly throughout the West, South and Midwest. Jesse had many safehouses in Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and other places, where he could count on being hidden and protected.

Eventually, things gradually started to change in Missouri. Democrats, who had previously been denied the right to vote or hold office, regained these rights, and so started electing people to the state legislature. Eventually, they elected Governor James Crittenden to the statehouse.

Far from viewing Jesse James as a hero, however, they got into office largely by promising to end the reign of lawlessness which they themselves had helped inspire, and create. It was the beginning of the end for James, who found himself being hunted and hounded in earnest, more and more bereft of places of refuge and support by the people. He tried to retire quietly under an alias, as did his brother frank, but he found this impossible. Some bad investments and an unfortunate gambling habit led to his return to a life of crime, one that did not enjoy the degree of success as his earlier one did. His old gang, the James Younger gang, had all been either killed, incarcerated, or retired into anonymity, and he found himself relying on confederates who did not have the requisite level of skill or devotion, nor trustworthiness.

Acting on a secret agreement forged with Crittenden, Jesse James was betrayed and assassinated by Bob Ford. Ford was immediately pardoned by Crittenden. Jesse's brother Frank, along with cousin and former partner Cole Younger, retired under aliases, eventually touring in WIld West shows. Cole Younger wrote a book of his life.

But it was Jesse who became the legendary Robin Hood character, and that legend has continued, even up to today. For example, the James Younger Homepage portrays James in a positive light.

He has also been hero, anti-hero, and villain, of several movies. In the nineten sixties, he even had his own tv series, The Legend Of Jesse James, which starred, as Jesse, Christopher Jones, a James Dean incarnation of sorts, and as Frank, Allen Case, a former singer and co-star, with Henry Fonda, of a fifties Western "The Deputy".

It lasted for one season only and was criticized as glamorizing the life of crime. The legend was finally starting to wear thin. Still, it persists to this day, to a degree. And it is easy to see why. Jesse James as a youth doubltess had to have been affected by the turbulent times in which he lived, the bloodshed he saw and participated in, and the outright brutality to which he was subjected after the war, when he felt as though his world had come to an end, and he would likely face a lifetime of persecution for his role in events. Moreover, he saw himself as acting, from beginning to end, out of a need for self-preservation.

After the war, his worse fears seemed to be coming to fruition, and all the warnings and advice he had received seemed to be prophetic in nature. How could he do anything but live the life he lead? The fact that he received adulation, respect, and admiration, not only in his own little area of Missourri, but to an extent throughout the nation, must have endowed him with something like a messianic character and outlook.

Yet, when the Democrats regained power, these very people that he had helped to regain that power in Missouri, then turned on him, in the most devious, underhanded, and cowardly fashion. Jesse James had played his part in American history. He was now expendable. And so, he was conveniently eliminated.

Seems like there might well be a lesson in there somewhere.