Essay Sample about Jesse James' Bank Robberies

Jesse James robbed more than 20 banks and trains from 1860 to 1882 and has murdered countless people who got in their way (“Jesse James - Death, Wife & Brother”). As a child, James had a very bad experience with the Civil War. The militia murdered their father and that made James very angry and upset with the war  (“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”).  He was very angry with the Civil War, in 1875  a bomb was thrown inside the house by the federal killing James' younger half-brother (“Jesse and Frank James”). His father’s death led him to be in a guerilla gang. He had Joined the guerilla gang and had a plan to attack and kill until during a raid he was shot in the chest (“Jesse James - SHSMO Historic Missourians”). He will be remembered for all the places in Missouri he has been to just like his childhood home and the Jesse James home  

Jesse James became a legend by committing many crimes, all because he wanted revenge for how the poor, his family, and other southerners were treated during the Civil War. He started his killing spree because he hated the Civil War. He started committing crimes in Missouri against many innocent civilians. Before starting a killing spree he was very numb to death.  "They looked on bank tellers and cashiers as the enemy, just like they looked on soldiers wearing blue jackets as the enemy"(“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”). He started all of this because he wanted revenge on what happened to his father.  After the incident, James joined a guerrilla group with his brother.  “James adapted quickly to a lifestyle that would set the pattern for the rest of his life: plan and attack, flee and hide” (“Jesse James - SHSMO Historic Missourians”). He had a mindset of eating, sleeping, and killing, and that's what it always was. In 1868 Jesse and his brother Frank were involved in a bank-robbing in Kentucky. Their names appeared in every newspaper for the very first time in December 1869. Jesse James had shot the cashier, thinking he was the man who killed ¨Bloody Bill" (“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”). Instead of robbing banks, they started robbing trains because it was easier. “In 1873 they had stopped robbing banks; instead, they started robbing trains, stealing money from the train safe rather than passengers” (“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”).  Jesse James would start by shooting the driver while the rest of the gang would use a rope to get the train off tracks. Jesse James robbed Northfield and got away with $15,000. After this, things got very hard for the gang in Missouri, so they fled and went to Minnesota because nobody would expect them to be there.   

James went on a killing spree until his downfall in 1882:  “He had robbed the Northfield bank on September 7, 1876” (“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”). While he was holding a knife to the clerk's neck the townspeople had suspicion on the lookouts outside: “The sentries had shot up in the air to clear the street but that had led to a gunfight” (“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?”). The law enforcement was already on their way by the time this had happened. He renounced his killing spree and outlaw lifestyle and up and left to somewhere near Virginia to keep a quiet retirement. James could not stay away from crime and assembled a new gang but it was very hard to keep it together.  In 1882 he had given up all the killing and gang-related things. He was living with his last two members that had not run off or died. Later, he had made some inappropriate comments to his sister about a $5,000 bounty on him dead or alive. 

In conclusion, Jesse James has claimed multiple lives and robbed countless banks and trains.  James became a ledegnedary figure to the wild west from all his robberies and murders (“Jesse James - SHSMO Historic Missourians”). There are many museums to learn more about Jesse James and there is even a train ride to experience his train robberies. (“Jesse James Home”)  Many people visit the Jesse James home. There is even a saloon that he used to go to (“Jesse James Home”).  Jesse was at his peak when he robbed the Gatlin Bank, Northern Feild Bank, Croydon Bank, and many trains. His fall occurred when he had to run away to Virginia. He was hiding in Virginia until one of his last gang members shot him.

Works Cited

“How Jesse James Went From Confederate Guerilla To American Folk Hero.” All That's Interesting, All thats intersting, 21 August 2021, https://allthatsinteresting.com/jesse-james. Accessed 2 March 2022.

“Jesse and Frank James.” New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia, 4 May 2018, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jesse_and_Frank_James. Accessed 2 March 2022.

“Jesse James - Death, Wife & Brother.” Biography, A&E Television Networks, LLC,  27 April 2017, https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/jesse-james. Accessed 8 March 2022.

“Jesse James Home.” St. Joseph, MO, 2022, https://www.stjosephmo.gov/362/Jesse-James-Home. Accessed 14 March 2022.

“Jesse James - SHSMO Historic Missourians.” SHSMO Historic Missourians, State Historical Society of Missouri, 2006, https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/jesse-james. Accessed 2 March 2022.

“What Drove Wild West's Jesse James To Become An Outlaw?” WBUR, WBUR, 17 August 2013, https://www.wbur.org/npr/212374395/what-drove-wild-wests-jesse-james-to-become-an-outlaw. Accessed 2 March 2022.