Dan Pennell Period 5 Jesse James - PowerPoint Presentation

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Dan Pennell Period 5

Jesse James

Aka: Dingus

“I think it [a difficult life] taught me to be independent and never expect a handout

and never wait for anybody to hand you anything in any aspect of my life.” -James

Background

Born September 5, 1847.

Father was a hemp farmer and minister.Father died when he was 3 years old.Had two siblings: an older brother and younger sister.Mother remarried twice; Not much family stability.His family was somewhat wealthy.Grew up owning slaves.When the civil war erupted, he joined the Confederacy.As a Confederate soldier, he was a Bushwhacker. (Guerilla Warfare specialist)During the war, he committed acts that violated civilized warfare. (Killed women and children, executed all prisoners, scalped the dead, etc.)Was lashed and tortured for his war crimes while he was sick and away from the battlefield.

After the war, he led a group of outlaws and robbed banks and stores.

Crimes Committed (Post-War)

Gallatin: Feb. 13, 1866: Liberty, Missouri:

-The James Gang came into a bank with firearms, and they pistol-whipped the cashier and stole $60,000 of bonds, gold, silver, and currency. Jesse James was not caught for this crime, but it was assumed that an ex-bushwhacker did this.Croydon: June 1871: Croydon, Iowa:-Jesse and his posse robbed a bank while a Methodist Church spokesperson by the name of Henry Clay Dean, and later robbed the crowd. None of the James Gang was caught.First National Bank Robbery: September 7, 1876: Northfield, Minnesota:-8 members of the James gang stormed the bank, and hit the cashier over the head with a rifle butt. His skull cracked and he was seriously injured. They held everyone inside at gun point. Civilians outside began to notice what was happening and shots were fired outside. The James gang had to retreat, however 6 of the 8 members were killed by police and civilians with guns. Before they left, Jesse shot an unarmed bookkeeper in the head.

Bank robberies: Late 1870’s.-James switched over primarily to robbing banks for the majority of his criminal activity, as it was a smarter way to rob.Somewhere along the line, Jesse’s face was recognized, and he was wanted dead or alive.

Evidence brought against Jesse James

Throughout his criminal career, witnesses saw Jesse’s face and the faces of his gang members. It took until about halfway through his criminal career for him to be noticed and have his crimes strung together. Numerous witnesses testimonies were compiled through the years which led to the National bounty on James’

head. Eventually, pressure from law enforcement became too difficult to deal with, which led to the death of James via bounty.

Evidence brought against Jesse James pt

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After the First National Bank heist, Jesse James was spotted and recognized. A search warrant was put out for his body dead or alive.

Sentence:

Jesse James was never captured, but he was theoretically sentenced to death, as a bounty was put out for him. He was wanted dead or alive, and was eventually killed by Robert Ford, a member of Jesse James’s gang who wanted the reward money. As he was an outlaw himself, Robert Ford was sentenced to death by hanging, but was pardoned.

Theory of Deviant Behavior

Jesse James was most likely physiologically messed up in the first place (chemical imbalance). His childhood wasn’t too difficult, besides his mom remarrying a lot. He was fairly wealthy and had an okay family life. It might be possible that his lack of a true father (his stepfathers weren’t too loving) could’ve been his reason for not learning correct social manners and morals.

The Civil War seems to have been the event in his life that changed him. He committed horrible taboos and killed women and children with no remorse. He possibly felt like the world owed him after his side (The South) lost the Civil war, as he robbed banks and killed whoever got in his way after that. I believe that part of the reason behind his deviant behavior is based on a chemical imbalance (physiological) or inability to feel guilt or empathy/sympathy, and another part was learned (psychological) and stemmed from his childhood and involvement in the Civil War. It’s also clear to say that the time he lived in was a much more difficult. When a person is less mentally stable, the environment around them is much more likely to affect them negatively. Jesse James in general, can be explained best by the Differential-Association Theory, because he was greatly affected by his environment. None of the other sociological theories of deviance seem to match up with Jesse James.

Cultural References and Legacy

Movies: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (starring Brad Pitt)

Television: “Gunslingers” (Historical documentary)Books: Jesse James: American OutlawSongs: The Jesse James Bolero, Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan): “Ain’t gonna hang no picture, ain’t gonna hang no picture frame. Well, I might look like Robert Ford, but I feel just like a Jesse James.”

Works Cited

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS,

n.d. Web. 15 May 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/james-jesse/>.Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/jesse-james-9352646>."Jesse James." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2015. <http://www.historynet.com/jesse-james>.