History UsefulNotes / JesseJames

After a failed attempt to rob the Northfield bank in 1876 the Younger gang was arrested. Jesse and Frank managed to escape and kept hidden for three years. In 1879 they started a new gang robbing banks and trains. In 1882 the 34-year-old Jesse was murdered by one of his own gang members, Robert Ford.

His criminal fame took off after Anti-Reconstruction newspaper editorials claimed that Jesse and Frank wanted revenge for the appropriation of their family and neighbors' farms by investors who wanted to build a railroad there. Their robberies sabotaged railroad constructions and they robbed banks where the investors kept their money. Even during his life, the James and Younger gangs were seen as {folk hero}}es and {{living legend}}s, which elevated Jesse James as a Myth/RobinHood character, who rebelled against the government and gave his stolen goods to the poor. While it's true that in only two train hold-ups passengers were robbed since James typically limited himself to the express safe in the baggage car, the gang always kept the money to themselves. They also killed civilians and took medicine intended for the poor and needy.

Jesse and his elder brother, Frank, fought as guerrillas with the bushwacking Quantrill's Raiders during the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. In sharp contrast to the later myth of the James as poor farmers and soldiers turning to war, the James family were relatively well-off. They had a substantial farm growing hemp and tobacco before the Civil War, and they owned seven slaves. The Younger Family (Cole, Jim, Bob and John), future allies and compatriots of James' gang were in fact descendants of the richest slaveowning family in Jackson County, Missouri. The James and Younger family served alongside the notorious William Quantrill and [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Bloody Bill Anderson]] in a several bushwacking wars in Missouri against the Jayhawkers, anti-slavery militants from Kansas. They were involved in the Lawrence and Centralia Massacres in particular.

His criminal fame took off after Anti-Reconstruction newspaper editorials claimed that Jesse and Frank wanted revenge for the appropriation of their family and neighbours' farms by investors who wanted to build a railroad there. Their robberies sabotaged railroad constructions and they robbed banks where the investers kept their money. Even during his life, the James and Younger gang, were seen as FolkHero and LivingLegend, which elevated Jesse James as a Myth/RobinHood character, who rebelled against the government and gave his stolen goods to the poor. While it's true that in only two train hold-ups passengers were robbed since James typically limited himself to the express safe in the baggage car, the gang always kept the money to themselves. They also killed civilians and robbed medicine baggages intended for the poor and needy.

Not to be confused with country singer Music/JessieJames. Or [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Team Rocket]], of whom were named after the outlaw.

* FolkHero: Because of the Robin Hood myth surrounding his character he's often thought to have been a GentlemanThief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. This made him a hero in 19th-century American folklore to the point that the man who finally murdered him, Robert Ford, was branded as a coward, for shooting Jesse James in the back. In reality James' gang were ordinary robbers and never shared their profits with anyone but themselves. Indeed they often robbed trains containing medicines for the poor.
* FreudianExcuse: Romantic media portrayals such as the folk song "Jesse James" casts him as a Confederate veteran branded as an outcast during the Reconstruction era, with Jesse James being one of many Confederate veterans who ended up as a bandit after the Civil War. The James family were in fact well-off, and Jesse and Frank James did not see a great deal of battle action, their key activities being that of pro-slavery bushwackers.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Compared to UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid his legacy is a bit more positive in the public perception, despite all evidence to the contrary. This is because unlike Billy, Jesse James benefited from the "Lost Cause" hagiography. Most Jesse James movies neglects the time he and his brother served under William Quantrill in Missouri during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, where they served, in the words of one historian, as a "death squad" against the local population of Union sympathizers. Most portrayals evoke Jesse James with an anti-authoritarian romanticism rather than anything related to the actual political reality.

%%* KissingCousins: His wife, Zerelda Mimms, was his first cousin. (Her mother, Mary James was a sister of Jesse's father, Robert Sallee James.)

* Silas Greaves from ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' [[TallTale claims to have outgunned Jesse]]. When someone points out that James died under very different circumstances, he quickly corrects himself that he only wounded him and that this defeat was so embarrassing, Jesse never told anyone about it.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Compared to UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid his legacy is a bit more positive in the public perception, despite all evidence to the contrary. This is because unlike Billy, Jesse James benefitted from the "Lost Cause" hagiography. Most Jesse James movies neglects the time he and his brother served under William Quantrill in Missouri during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, where they served, in the words of one historian, as a "death squad" against the local population of Union sympathizer. Most portrayals evoke Jesse James with an anti-authoritarian romanticism rather than anything related to the actual political reality.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Jessie and James take their names from him. In Japan, they were respectively named after UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi and UsefulNotes/KojiroSasaki instead.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Jessie and James take their names from him. In Japan, they were respectively named after UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi and Kojiro Sasaki instead.

* Jesse James is one of the eponymous outlaws to appear in TheThreeStooges feature film ''The Outlaws is Coming''.

Not to be confused with country singer Music/JessieJames. Or [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Team Rocket]].

* ''Film/IShotJesseJames'' (1948) by Creator/SamuelFuller features Jesse James in the opening sequence and then focuses on Robert Ford who is given a highly sympathetic portrayal. Fuller himself stated that he disliked the Jesse James myth and according to him, Robert Ford, was more sympathetic or likable to him.

* ''I Shot Jesse James'' (1948) by Creator/SamuelFuller features Jesse James in the opening sequence and then focuses on Robert Ford who is given a highly sympathetic portrayal. Fuller himself stated that he disliked the Jesse James myth and according to him, Robert Ford, was more sympathetic or likable to him.

* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': In the episode ''[[Recap/TheBradyBunchS4E17BobbysHero Bobbys Hero]]'' Bobby becomes so fascinated with Jesse James that he brings a toy gun to school and makes his teachers and parents very concerned. Eventually an OpinionChangingDream makes him change his mind.

* Music/WoodyGuthrie wrote a song about him, ''Jesse James'', later covered by Music/ThePogues on ''Run, Sodomy & The Lash'' (1985) and by Music/BruceSpringsteen on ''The Seeger Sessions''.
* Music/SergeGainsbourg mentions him at the start of his song ''Bonnie & Clyde''.
* Music/WarrenZevon wrote another sympathetic song, ''Frank and Jesse James''.

Jesse James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) is tied with UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid as the most famous {{Outlaw}} of TheWildWest.

Jesse James (September 5, 1847–April 3, 1882) is tied with UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid as the most famous {{Outlaw}} of TheWildWest.

[[quoteright:254:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jesse_james_462.jpg]]

Jesse James (1847–1882) is tied with UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid as the most famous {{Outlaw}} of TheWildWest.

-> ''Some editors call us thieves. We are not thieves--we are bold robbers. I am proud of the name, for UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat was a bold robber, and UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, and UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte.''

Jesse James (1847-1882) is tied with UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid as the most famous {{Outlaw}} of TheWildWest.

--> ''Two of the most wanted individuals in the county''
--> ''Made UsefulNotes/JesseJames and UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid look like law-abiding citizens''

'''Jesse James''' (1847-1882) is tied with UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid as the most famous {{Outlaw}} of TheWildWest.

His criminal fame took off after [[ReactionaryFantasy Anti-Reconstruction newspaper]] editorials claimed that Jesse and Frank wanted revenge for the appropriation of their family and neighbours' farms by investors who wanted to build a railroad there. Their robberies sabotaged railroad constructions and they robbed banks where the investers kept their money. Even during his life, the James and Younger gang, were seen as FolkHero and LivingLegend, which elevated Jesse James as a Myth/RobinHood character, who rebelled against the government and gave his stolen goods to the poor. While it's true that in only two train hold-ups passengers were robbed since James typically limited himself to the express safe in the baggage car, the gang always kept the money to themselves. They also killed civilians and robbed medicine baggages intended for the poor and needy.

'''Appearances in popular culture'''

* Music/WoodyGuthrie wrote a song about him, ''Jesse James'', later covered by Music/ThePogues on ''Run, Sodomy & The Lash'' (1985) and by Music/BruceSpringsteen on ''The Seeger Sessions''.
* Music/SergeGainsbourg mentions him at the start of his song ''Bonnie & Clyde''.
* Music/WarrenZevon wrote another sympathetic song, ''Frank and Jesse James''.
* ''Film/JesseJames'' (1939) stars Creator/TyronePower as Jesse, Creator/HenryFonda as Frank and Creator/JohnCarradine as Bob Ford.
* ''I Shot Jesse James'' (1948) by Creator/SamuelFuller features Jesse James in the opening sequence and then focuses on Robert Ford who is given a highly sympathetic portrayal. Fuller himself stated that he disliked the Jesse James myth and according to him, Robert Ford, was more sympathetic or likable to him.
* Series/TheBradyBunch: In the episode ''[[Recap/TheBradyBunchS4E17BobbysHero Bobbys Hero]]'' Bobby becomes so fascinated with Jesse James that he brings a toy gun to school and makes his teachers and parents very concerned. Eventually an OpinionChangingDream makes him change his mind.
* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': Appears at the end of ''Billy The Kid'' trying to scare the villagers of that town in order to give him all his loot. Unfortunately they are no longer afraid of outlaws and simply tar and feather him. He returns in a much larger role in the album ''Jesse James'''. In this album he fancies himself the new Myth/RobinHood, but is a bit reluctant about the "giving to the poor" part. His brother Frank has a brilliant idea: Jesse will give everything he steals to him, Frank, who currently is poor; by doing this, Jesse will become poor too, so Frank will give everything back to him, and so on. Robin-Hooding stays in the family. Another amusing joke is that Frank is such a Creator/WilliamShakespeare fan that he quotes lines from his plays in fitting situations.

* He and Frank James appear alongside UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode ''Treehouse Of Horror XIII''.
* Country musician Music/JessieJames takes her name from him.
* Silas Greaves from ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' [[TallTale claims to have outgunned Jesse]]. When someone points out that James died under very different circumstances, he quickly corrects himself that he only wounded him and that this defeat was so embarrassing, Jesse never told anyone about it.
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': The first Trickster, James Jesse admired UsefulNotes/JesseJames since childhood and decided to pull the modern equivalent of train robberies by robbing airplanes--in midair.
* Music/BobDylan's "Outlaw Blues" from ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' namedrops Jesse James and his assassin Robert Ford.
--> ''I might look like Robert Ford, but I feel just like a Jesse James.''

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': The character Jesse & James take their names from him.

!! Jesse James' life provides examples of...
* BadassBeard: He had a five o' clock shadow stubble beard.

* TheGunslinger: One of the notorious bandits of the Wild West.

* InTheBack: While he was adjusting a framed painting hanging on his wall Robert Ford shot him. This earned him the nickname ''Coward Robert Ford''.

* KissingCousins: His wife, Zerelda Mimms, was his first cousin. (Her mother, Mary James was a sister of Jesse's father, Robert Sallee James.)

* WholesomeCrossdresser: It's not well known, but one of Jesse James' early schemes [[http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/history/Crossdressers.htm involved dressing as a woman]] to tempt cavalrymen for a secret tryst where they would be robbed or shanked. James' androgynous features made him pass well for a girl and some historians have suggested that he might have been a bisexual or male prostitute in his spare time.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: James was a pro-slavery terrorist turned bank robber who was mythologized even while he was alive for supposedly chivalrous behaviour not in line with his actual deeds.

* ''Film/TheGreatNorthfieldMinnesotaRaid'', a anti-myth 1972 Western best known for casting [[RealLifeRelative actual brothers]] as the James and Younger siblings.
* Subject of the film ''Film/TheLongRiders''.