In the spring of 1882, more than 140 years ago, a bullet to the back of the head put an end to the career of the notorious bank and train robber Jesse James. This moment made him famous in eternity: thus, from 1921 to 2017, Jesse James became the main character or a cameo in 31 movies.

In St. Joseph, his hometown, there is a monument and a museum dedicated to his life and deeds, many books have been written about him, and songs have been dedicated to him. Jesse James has become a cultural symbol and a national hero! How did a ruthless criminal turn into a cultural icon and a national hero? Let's find out.

The era of exploration of the American West is a key stage in the history of both the American state and the entire North American continent. It is noteworthy that the most memorable events of this period are associated not so much with peaceful pursuits like farming, gold mining or industrial development, but with the exploits of dashing men - ruthless killers, bank and train robbers. One of the most colorful and famous among them was Jesse James.

Jesse Woodson James was born September 5, 1847, in Clay County, Missouri. His father, Robert, was a prosperous Baptist farmer who died of pneumonia shortly after going gold prospecting in California. His mother, Zerelda Cole, became the mainstay of the family after Robert's death. Left a widow, she went through two failed marriages before marrying physician Reuben Samuels, which provided the family with a steady income.

Three years after the Civil War began, in 1864, the war burst into the lives of Jesse James and his family. Northern soldiers came to their farm in search of local guerrillas: as a result of this raid, Jesse was severely beaten and his stepfather Reuben Samuels was hanged.

These events prompted Jesse to join a guerrilla unit, the Quantrill Riders, where he served under the command of Bloody Bill Anderson. The unit was known for its ruthlessness, and it was here that Jesse learned the tactics of surprise attacks, swift cavalry raids, and horsemanship.

After the Confederate defeat, former soldiers were granted amnesty, but individuals had a different opinion on the matter; Jesse was wounded in the lung at the hands of a former enemy, and the incident further increased his antipathy toward the North.

During the Reconstruction of the South, the federal government attempted to change the political system and social pattern of the defeated states. This time was the beginning of Jesse James' criminal career, which is closely tied to the process of forming a unified nation in the United States.

The former colonies of British America differed greatly from one another. Aristocratic Virginia with its plantations contrasted sharply with commercial and business New York, and Pennsylvania, founded in 1681 as a refuge for oppressed Quakers in England, was the third facet of the crystal: each state represented something different.

Over time, many of these differences smoothed out, but by the outbreak of the Civil War, the industrial and commercial North was still very different from the planter South. The North was advancing rapidly in development, but the South, enriched by cotton plantations worked by slaves, was more prosperous.

Not all plantation owners were aristocrats: for example, Jesse James's family of nine had only seven slaves. However, the culture of the South was very different: horses, rifles, and bravery were valued here, not business acumen and ledgers. The South was not ready to change its values under pressure from the victors.

The brutality and corruption exhibited by Northern-appointed administrations, the participation of African Americans in legislative assemblies caused anger and resentment among Southerners.

Robbing banks controlled by Northerners was seen by many as an act of heroism. If Jesse James was killed in the course of these robberies, the public rarely condemned him, seeing the killing as an act of confrontation with an external enemy.

At that time, the police and FBI in their modern sense did not yet exist, and the federal cavalry was engaged in other tasks. When the Jesse James gang began robbing trains, Alan Pinkerton's famous detective agency, which worked for the federal government in intelligence and counterintelligence, took over.

Pinkerton, on assignment for the railroad companies, tracked down James' gang, but his attempts were unsuccessful and only resulted in the deaths of two agents. Then Pinkerton decided to blow up the James family home - and again the operation did not go according to plan, only Jesse's mother and younger brother were hurt. This case received wide publicity, Pinkerton's reputation was seriously damaged, but Jesse James strengthened his image as a hero among the inhabitants of the South.

Jesse James' popularity was due in large part to his cunning and charm during train robberies. He was remarkably polite, curtsied to women, addressed children affectionately, and never took property from men with signs of hard physical labor or former Confederate soldiers.

The Northern government did not interfere with editors and journalists in the defeated Southern states, which allowed local media to write about Jesse with sympathy and respect. These publications even published letters from Jesse James in which he gave his perspective on the robberies committed and shared his political beliefs!

Our hero, meanwhile, continued his dashing deeds. However, 11 years after the end of the Civil War, an attempt by Jesse's gang to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, turned into a disaster - the townspeople took up arms and opened merciless fire.

Jesse managed to escape, but his comrades were either wounded or killed, and the old gang broke up. Jesse lived under a false name for a while, then formed a new gang and returned to criminal activity. However, the new gang members were not like his former comrades in arms - they were young, they were driven solely by selfish motives. When a bounty was placed on Jesse James' head, one of his young followers, 20-year-old Robert Ford, shot him in the back.

Thus began Jesse James' journey into the world of legends. A big role was played by Robert Ford himself, who, after James' murder, toured the United States for a long time with a pantomime reconstructing the murder, where he played himself. He later opened his own bar, but ten years after James' murder, he “found” his bullet as well.

The desire for fame drove Ford's killer to this act. He achieved his goal, because the residents of the state actively defended him, petitioning the governor, thanks to which the criminal was able to avoid a life sentence, sitting in prison for only a few years. The defeated South was painfully aware of the fact that its cultural traditions and values were fading into the past, and the image of Jesse James, the murdered traitor, became a symbol of the rough, chivalrous culture of the South, arousing nostalgia.

It can be said that the figure of Jesse James will continue to be relevant to American society as long as the memory of the American Civil War continues to maintain interest in his person.