Essay --

Tough times challenged a boy like Jesse James growing up in Missouri. Internal conflicts during the Civil War devastated the state. Missouri, a border state, tried to stay neutral, but it seemed that the people of Missouri held different ideas. Violence broke out between southern sympathizers who wanted to secede and those loyal to the Union. Jesse James, best known as a dangerous and ruthless thief, murdered many innocent people, but many in the deep south continued to regard him as a hero. Some compared James to Robin Hood and admired him for his daring deeds. Jesse James, like many of his contemporaries, experienced an innocent early childhood, until the atrocities of the Civil War transformed him into the marauder that history portrayed. Born in Clay County Missouri on September 5, 1847 to Zerelda and Robert James, Jesse Woodson James entered his life in innocence. Only three years after the birth of Jesse, Robert James contracted cholera and died shortly after leaving the family in debt. To keep the family afloat Zerelda married a wealthy farmer Benjamin Simms, but the marriage proved to be an unhappy union. In 1854, after Zerelda left Simms, Simms died from the injuries related to being thrown from his horse. Jesse, yet again, became fatherless. Zerelda’s final marriage took place in 1855 when she married Dr. Ruben Samuel. Conflicts between Secessionists and Loyalists erupted throughout Missouri. Unlike in other states where neighbors joined together in arms to fight for the Union or the Confederacy, in Missouri neighbors and lifelong family friends eyed each other with suspicion as they enlisted in regiments on opposites sides. Missouri also possessed a strong unionist influence from the German immigrants in St. Louis he... ..., the author of the letter is not verified but is assumed to be written by Jesse James. The letter showed the mindset of the robbers or was written to give support to the idea that the â€Å"bold-robbers† were not thieves and indeed resembled robin hood. In the letter, Jesse James apologized for the tragic accident of wounding the young girl, and said that he would personally pay for the medical treatment which helps his image with the public. He later compares himself with other great leaders such as Ceasar, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great, as they were all bold-robbers. Lastly he contrasts his actions with that of the president, trying to prove his resemblance to robin hood. He says that he is stealing from the rich, and giving back to the poor, while the Grant Party is stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. (Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War [Online])