How Jesse James became America's most popular criminal

Jesse James. Jesse James is often remembered as an outlaw—but his life reflects a far more complicated chapter of American history. Born in Missouri in 1847, he grew up during a time when the nation was deeply divided by the Civil War. Those divisions didn’t end when the fighting stopped. In the years that followed, many Americans struggled with loss, resentment, and distrust of institutions they felt no longer represented them. James became involved in crime during this turbulent period, carryi