This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt.
From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio.
That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing, Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member F-I-N-R-A-S-IPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice.
Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Hey, this is U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhall. And I'm U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.
As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.
So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose PennyMac. PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you. Learn more at pennymac.com. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 35953, licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.
Ready to change your life for just $2 a day? Orange Theory Fitness delivers one-hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle, and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait, this offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today.
Offer ends January 31st, 2026. New members only, premier membership, performance monitor, and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. See studio for details.
Want to buy your way? Of course you do. That's why CarMax offers an experience designed just for you. Want to start online, then visit the lot, then go back online? Sure.
Want to talk to a real person or chat online? Either works. Want to take your time and compare all the makes and models? No problem. Then make up some time by filling out the paperwork at home and schedule express pickup or home delivery?
Done. When it comes to how you buy, CarMax puts you in the driver's seat. Want to drive? CarMax. Delivery restrictions apply.
See CarMax.com for details. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star. and the American people. After a century and a half, Jesse James remains one of the most iconic and romanticized figures in American history. You're to tell the story of America's most notorious outlaw.
is Roger McGrath. McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes, Violence on the Frontier. He's a U.S. Marine and former history professor at UCLA. He's appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries, and he's a regular contributor here on Our American Stories.
Take it away, McGrath. Yeah. The great American poet Carl Sandberg said, Jesse James is the only American bandit who is classical. who is to this country what Robin Hood or Dick Turpin is to England. whose exploits are so close to the mythical and apocryphal.
Well, most biographers of Jesse James would agree with Sandberg's description. They portray James as dashing, courageous, and romantic. And he certainly was all of those things.
However, it can also be ruthless, cunning, and deadly. Most of all though He was extraordinarily good at what he did. rob banks and trains. For sixteen years Jesse James rode and robbed, and went unapprehended. When his end did come, It came not at the hands of a lawman.
but at the hands of a traitor in his own gang. Jesse James was born in 1847 in Clay County at the far western edge of Missouri. an area known as Little Dixie. He is the second son of Robert and Zeralda James. Their older son, Frank James, is born in 1843.
The father, Robert James, is a Baptist minister. Here's Civil War historian Harry Jones. Robert James, he's selected by a group of men there who want to go out west to California. and he's the chaplain on this expedition to go out gold mining. Jesse's a very young child at this time.
And his father dies in California. Jesse's mother and now widow, Zerilda James is a fierce Southern woman. She remarries twice after Robert's death and continues to manage her late husband's 300-acre hemp farm, and seven slaves. Here's historian David Eisenbach. Zarelda raised both of her sons to not only be for the institution of slavery, but to fight for it and to commit crimes in the name of the cause.
Her second marriage lasts no more than a few months. before that husband leaves also. Then in 1855, She marries Dr. Reuben Samuel. who spends most of his time farming rather than practising medicine.
He's quiet and reserved. Zeralda is stormy and assertive. It proves a good match, and they have four children together. But life in Missouri in the 1850s is hardly stable. The question of slavery is ripping apart the American frontier.
When Jesse is just nine, the Kansas-Missouri border war erupts. During the five years of bloody war that followed, everybody on the border is forced to take sides. In 1854, the institution of slavery is being challenged in the nation's capital. The Nebraska Territory on Missouri's border is ready to become a state. Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas.
believes that the majority of citizens in a territory should decide the issue of slavery for themselves. Douglas proposes splitting the territory into Kansas and Nebraska. and have the residents in each area vote for a slave state? or a free state. Yeah.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act leaves the decision on whether a new territory would be slave or free to the voters. No opposition to this act leads to the formation. of the Republican Party and its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont in eighteen fifty six.
Well Nonetheless, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passes which means slavery. could possibly expand into new areas. This ignites a firestorm. and Kansas becomes a battleground. as free soil proponents rush in from the north.
and slavery advocates rush in from Missouri. Western Missouri becomes a staging ground for pro-slavery Southerners. and are pejoratively called bushwhackers. Free soil farmers from the North are called jayhawkers. Kansas becomes bleeding Kansas.
Could be said. The Civil War starts in Kansas. in the late 1850s. On the James family farm, Zarelda is busy shaping her boys to be the next generation of pro-Confederate fighters. Here's Jesse James Historian.
Michael Gooch. She was not a wallflower by any means, very vocal, very outspoken. Don't you take anything from those Yankees. You hear me? Debra man's responsibility to hold on to what they got.
For the next six years, The James Family Farm. transforms into a Confederate stronghold. On April 12, 1861, The South fires on Fort Sumter and the Civil War formally begins. Frank James is immediately plunged into battle. fighting for the militia in the Confederate Army.
But Union troops rout the Confederate forces in Missouri. and then occupy Clay County. Here's Andrew Nelson. and Civil War historian Christopher Phillips. The Southern sympathizers in this area Could easily be taken out, lynched in their own yards, their houses were burned on a regular basis, livestock confiscated by the union authorities, and it became an eye for an eye.
It was so bad. that one Union commander actually ordered. to depopulation of four entire counties of western Missouri. Everyone had to leave, and then their homes were burned. And you've been listening to Roger McGrath setting up a context in which Jesse James was born.
And my goodness, talk about a divided nation. We're sitting right in the middle of bloody Kansas, which truly is the beginning of the American Civil War. Talk about Rough Country when we continue more of the life of Jesse James here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here. As we approach our nation's 250th anniversary, I'd like to remind you that all the history stories you hear on this show are brought to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College.
And Hillsdale isn't just a great school for your kids or grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go to hillsdale.edu to find out about their terrific free online courses. Their series on communism is one of the finest I've ever seen. Again, go to hillsdale.edu and sign up for their free and terrific online courses. Let's dive into this week's cultural shifts and social trends.
Honestly, Maya, I missed the discourse, but I did switch to T-Mobile with a new family freedom offer. That's not what we're here to discuss.
Well, I'm evolving from ATT and embracing a new cultural movement with T-Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3,200 and gave us four new phones on the house. Paradigm shift! Introducing Family Freedom, our lowest cost of switch, our biggest family savings, all on America's largest five G network. Visit your local T Mobile location, or learn more at T Mobile dot com slash family freedom.
Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24-monthly bill credits with finance agreement, egg Apple iPhone 16, 128GB 829.99. Eligible trade-in, eg iPhone 11 Pro for well-qualified. Credits and balance due if you pay off early or cancel.
Contact T-Mobile. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work.
It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. Portfolio.
That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA, SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC. SEC Registered Advisor.
Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Hey, this is U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.
And I'm U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhall. As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.
So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose PennyMac. PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you. Learn more at pennymac.com. PennyMac Loan Services LLC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 35953, licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.
Ready to change your life for just $2 a day? Orange Theory Fitness delivers one-hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle, and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait, this offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today.
Offer ends January 31st, 2026. New members only, premier membership, performance monitor, and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. See Studio for details.
For the last six years, Jesse James has led this outlaw band. Mm-hmm. Picking his way on a thoroughbred grey Through the trails of this southern land. with a gun in his hand. A riding and a hiding and a runnin' with Jesse James.
And we continue with our American stories and with Roger McGrath telling the story of Jesse James. Let's pick up. where we last left off. Here's Jesse James' biographer Dan Marcoux. Union militia in the area started looking for these bushwhackers.
Ziralda had told everyone that Frank was one of them. Fifteen-year-old Jesse. is out plowing in a field. when northern soldiers kept looking for Frank. I hang Frank's respected stepfather, Dr.
Ruben Samuel, to a tree right in front of Zeralda and Jesse. until Rubin finally gives up Frank's location. It's this violent experience. Who had pushed Jesse to join his brother in the spring of eighteen sixty four? In Missouri, Vengeance is best got riding with one of the dozens.
of Confederate guerrilla bands. In the company of these men, cooperate outside the rules of war. Jesse James will be schooled in the art of ambushing violence and terror. There are no papers to sign. no uniforms, no government issue firearms.
Jesse simply follows creeks and hog trails into the darkness of the Missouri woods. Where the Confederate guerrillas Make camp. Most notorious leader, Of these Confederate guerrilla bands. is quatrills raiders. Commanded by William Quantrill.
By 1863, Frank James is writing with Quantrell, and a year later, so too is 17-year-old Jesse. Quantrell's band raid, loot, burn, and kill. Their main targets are the railroads, the lifeblood of the Union advance. One of Quantrell's lieutenants, Bloody Bill Anderson, Senator Jesse. Not to have any beard.
He is the keenest and cleanest fighter in the command.
Well, during the summer of eighteen sixty four, Jesse is shot in the chest. But within a month, he's back in the saddle, and he participates in a train hijacking led by Bloody Bill. at Centralia, Missouri. Instead of capturing supplies, They find something even more valuable. Here's Civil War historian Donald Frazier.
Yeah. This train has aboard a number of Union forces. and home guards that are on their way home and they're unarmed. They really pose no threat, but they've now fallen to Bloody Bill Anderson and his band. All you Yankees are gonna die like dog!
Bloody Bill's guerrillas killed four civilians and 22 Union soldiers. Bloody Bill wasn't afraid to send a message. That can be pretty brutal. Confederates Justifiably argue the massacres are in response to union atrocities. In Missouri.
Yeah. Jesse is shot in the chest a second time. And shortly thereafter, learns of Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox in April 1865. After four years of bloody fighting though, He has no intention of surrendering. For Jesse James, this is not an end of his conflict.
This is the end of someone else's conflict. Not Jesse James' conflict, not Frank James' conflict. Their conflict isn't over. It's still going on. Jesse James returns home to his deeply divided border state of Missouri.
Here's Old West historian Jeff Maury. and David Eisenbach. After the Civil War, the South was hellacious. It had been ruined. and there was a great deal of resentment.
of northern authority, of federal authority. Missouri is one of the states that stuck with the Union during the Civil War, but had large sectors of the population that wanted to go with the South in the first place.
So you had Missourians fighting Missourians. It's in this incredibly volatile, literally brother against brother, world. that we get Jesse James. Jussie discovers the war has not only torn apart his homeland, It's left his family with nothing. Hmm.
With Northern Reconstructionists in power across Missouri, Jesse and his brother Frank joined forces with their cousins. the brothers Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger. who share their fierce hatred for Yankees. The Youngers also served under Quantrell and Bloody Bill. and ended up losing their father and family home to the union.
Jesse decides the best way to express his hatred for the North is to go after Northern wealth. They had to do something to strike back against. Federal authority, and everything they saw as being oppressors in their life. They looked at themselves as freedom fighters. And try to strike a blow for Southern manhood, Southern honor, and Southern virtue.
Having converted to the now worthless Confederate money, there is very little United States currency left in the South. Most of the money held in the banks is coming in from Reconstructionists investing in Reunion. Jesse James' decision, therefore, to rob banks is as much political as it is criminal. Go. The game's first heights.
Is also the first daylight bank robbery in American history during peacetime. It occurs at 2 p.m. In Liberty, Missouri, on a cold, snowy day on February 13, 1866. The bank is owned by Republican former militia officers. who recently conducted the first Republican Party rally in Clay County's history.
The James Younger gang hits the jackpot. With a sum equal to nearly $900,000 in today's money. And the bank is now known. as the Jesse James Bank Museum Rob a bank Get it named for you. Four months later, in Jackson County, Missouri.
The gang frees two jailed members of Quantrill's raiders. killing their jailer in their effort. How the railroads are established by the Union during the war. And the railroad is a symbol of northern power. and and progress and a tool to rebuild the country and its wealth.
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency. headquartered in Chicago. is hired. to guard the cargo of railroads. For Jesse and Frank The trains are a perfect target.
Jesse's first train robbery comes in 1873 near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Jesse and company pull a rail out of place, and the train's engineer, John Rafferty. sees it move as the gang tugs on a rope attached to the rail. immediately reverses the control lever. He saves the train.
But he and the locomotive. Flip off the track and he dies. Jesse and the boys get some two thousand from the train safe. not the great hall they were expecting. and decide to rob the passengers also.
Uh Then waving their hats and shouting farewell, the boys gallop off. Evidently feeling bad about robbing the passengers, in their next train robbery, Jesse and the boys say they did not want to rob workingmen or ladies, but only the money and valuables of the plug-hat gentlemen. But the train robberies are bad for both the soft handed businessmen and the callous handed workers. The railroads do not want robbers stopping their train. They don't want robbers terrifying their passengers.
It's bad for business. In fact, there was one railroad passenger who said, I don't care if it costs me $500, I'm not riding a train through Missouri. I'll go around through Iowa or Minnesota or whatever, but I'm not going to take a train through the state of Missouri. And you're listening to Roger McGrath tell one heck of a story about Jesse James, his brother Frank, as well. And back then, you had to choose sides, especially if you were somebody looking to get into a fight.
And there was the Union militia, and there was the Confederate militia in Missouri. And Jesse and Frank chose to work with the Confederate militia. After the war was over, Well, the conflict wasn't over in the minds of Jesse and Frank. And many Missourians were against Missouri joining the Union cause. and had a shared hatred.
for Yankees. And the best way to express that, of course, for young men and young fighters like Jesse and Frank. was to, well, see themselves as modern freedom fighters and go after Yankee wealth. The story of Jesse James, how he came to be, who he was. That story continues here.
on our American stories. Let's dive into this week's cultural shifts and social trends. Honestly, Maya, I miss the discourse, but I did switch to T-Mobile with a new family freedom offer. That's not what we're here to discuss.
Well, I'm evolving from ATT and embracing a new cultural movement with T-Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3,200 and gave us four new phones on the house. Paradigm shift! Introducing Family Freedom, our lowest cost to switch, our biggest family savings, all on America's largest five G network. Visit your local T Mobile location, or learn more at T Mobile dot com slash familyfreedom.
Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24-monthly bill credits with finance agreement, e.g. Apple iPhone 16, 128GB 829.99. Eligible trade-in, eg iPhone 11 Pro for well-qualified.
Credits and and balance due if you pay off early or cancel. Contact T-Mobile. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt.
From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio.
Portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC.
SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Hey, this is U.S.
Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhall. And I'm U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhall. As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.
So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose PennyMac. PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you. Learn more at pennymac.com. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 35953, licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.
Ready to change your life for just $2 a day? Orange Theory Fitness delivers one-hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle, and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait, this offer ends soon. Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today.
Offer ends January 31st, 2026. New members only, premier membership, performance monitor, and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply. See Studio for details.
And we continue with our American stories and the riveting story, the remarkable story of Jesse James. It's also a story about American history and the moment James and his brother and his crew grew up in. And that's of course Civil War and post-Civil War, Reconstruction Civil War. Let's pick up where we last left off with Roger McGrath. News of the James Brothers holdup spreads quickly.
The robbery is a blow to the railroads and embarrasses the Pinkertons. Alan Pinkerton, their founder, who had been a spy for the Union during the Civil War. takes it personally upon himself to bring Jesse to justice. In Kansas City, the name Jesse James catches the eye of a former Confederate major, turned newspaper editor, Who has trained mightily to inspire the Confederate wing of the Democratic Party? to jump back into the fight.
Here's Western Frontier novelist Lieutenant Colonel Fred Kia Ventoni. If there was ever a minister of propaganda, For the Southern rebels and the outlaws that followed the Civil War, it was John Newman Edwards. For Edwards and many other Southerners, This is not only about Jesse, it is and other Confederate guerrillas. but about the lost cause of the old South. Edwards, he wanted to see these downtrodden Confederates take their political future into their own hands.
And he thought. The James gang would inspire them, and that's why he started writing positive. Record. He made them the legends that they were. Yeah.
In Edwards' Fanciful Telling, Just as religious, kind to women, children, and animals. saves poor widows from foreclosure.
Well, he is. America's Robin Hood. Thanks to John Newman Edwards and the power of the press, Jesse James is no longer seen as a criminal. But as a folk hero for the South, Here's Jesse James scholar Kathy Jackson. If you're going to be an outlaw, what better way to escape the law and get people to help you than to have them believe that you are doing it for them?
for a greater good. Jesse partners with Edwards and continues his robbing spree targeting Northern wealth. Newspaper readers across the country buy into the Robin Hood myth. But not the Pinkertons. Although Governor Silas Woodson issues a $2,000 reward for the James brothers, The biggest threat to Jesse's life comes from the private sector.
Alan Pinkerton who's made an art of reconnaissance and infiltration. Sex is ambitious. 26-year-old undercover agent. Joseph Witcher in Declay County. First thing he did after getting off the train was to go to the sheriff, ask where the James or Samuel farm is.
He told the sheriff who he was, what he was doing. Sheriff told him, Do not go out there. Those boys will kill you. If they don't kill you, the old lady will. He didn't listen.
He was later found the next day with four gunshot wounds in his chest and two in his head with a note pinned on his jacket that said, this is what happens. to detectives who come looking for the James boys. Alan Pinkerton had never suffered a defeat like this. It became a personal vendetta for him, and he began to undertake the operation on his own expense. A month after murdering Pinkerton agent Witcher, Jesse marries his first cousin, Zaroba and Z MIMS.
named after Jesse's own mother. But it doesn't slow them down. Trains and banks continue to fall victim to his gang at a startling rate. Largest halls are thirty thousand dollars. from the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
and ten thousand in cash and valuables. from the Tishamingo Savings Bank in Corinth, Mississippi. On a January night in 1875, A Binkerton reading party, suspecting Jesse is visiting home, surrounds the James family farm. Pinkerton knew that the Jane's boys would at some point come to that house. Woo!
He had men ready, at least eight to ten. Whenever they learned that Jesse and Frank were at that farm, he was gonna send those men in. Alan Pinkerton plotted. to bring about the demise of the James Brothers. The Pinkertons threw a firebomb into the farmhouse in hopes of driving Jesse out.
But the only ones home are Jesse's mother, stepfather, and nine-year-old half-brother Archie. Reuben and Ziralda I think it's a firebomb and sweep it into the fireplace. that turns it into an actual bomb. Firebomb explodes. and kills Archie.
and mangles his mother's right hand so bad. It is later amputated. The explosion is heard as far away as three miles. John Newman Edwards frames the story of the Pinkerton's raid as a direct attack on the South. by a northern enemy.
No one is ever brought to trial for the murder of Jesse's half-brother. Which again gives Jesse a reason to seek his own justice. If the law is not going to bring these guys to justice, then Jesse's going to do what he can. After the botched raid. Alan Pinkerton's detective agency is forced to back away from their more aggressive tactics.
Jesse and Frank. Hide out in Nashville. In the summer, Z gives birth to Jesse's son. Jesse Edwards, James. eighteen seventy six.
looks like it could be a banner year for Jesse. He opens a summer campaign. With a fifteen thousand dollar haul of cash, from the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Then Bill Chadwell, A James Gang member from Minnesota, suggests they rob what he thinks will be an easy mark in his home state. deep in Northern Territory.
The suggestion is debated within the gang. But finally it's decided. Ted four hundred miles north after Bob Younger. informs the boys of a major depositor at First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Here's Reconstructionist Historian.
Eric Foner. You can rob a bank in Missouri. Why do you have to go hundreds of miles away to rob a bank? They got plenty of banks. Because he had heard that the Reconstruction governor of Mississippi, a Delbert Ames, had relatives up in Northfield.
And a lot of his money was in this bank. Yeah. And James decided, we're gonna go up there, we're gonna rob that bank. to take the money of the reconstruction governor of Mississippi. On September 7th, eighteen seventy six.
The James Younger Gang approaches the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Just 45 miles south of Minneapolis. But with their long coats and impressive sidearms, The Missouri Boys stand out among the mostly farming folk. many of them Swedish immigrants. We intend to run.
This here, bud. Who's the cashier? You open that safe now.
Okay. And you've been listening to Roger McGrath tell the story of Jesse James. Loss causer John Newman Edwards took liberties to turn James into a hero for the South. and creating a southern version of Robin Hood. and the Robin Hood myth.
Pinkerton wasn't buying it. and the former intelligence man for the Union, got to work. After one of his men is gunned down by the James Boys, Now it gets really personal. And after a raid of the James family home. One of the James boys.
in-laws was killed. And this fueled the myth of the lost causers even deeper. And the thicker this gets, the better it gets when we come back. More with Roger McGrath. on Jesse James, the myth.
and the reality here. on Our American Stories. Let's Let's dive into this week's cultural shifts and social trends. Honestly, Maya, I miss the discourse, but I did switch to T-Mobile with a new family freedom offer. That's not what we're here to discuss.
Well, I'm evolving from ATT and embracing a new cultural movement with T-Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3,200 and gave us four new phones on the house. Paradigm shift! Introducing Family Freedom, our lowest cost to switch, our biggest family savings, all on America's largest five G network. Visit your local T Mobile location, or learn more at T Mobile dot com slash family freedom.
Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24-monthly bill credits with finance agreement, e.g., Apple iPhone 16, 128GB, 829.99. Eligible trade-in, e.g. iPhone 11 Pro for well-qualified.
Credits and and balance due if you pay off early or cancel. Contact T-Mobile. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt.
From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio.
Portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC.
SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Hey, this is U.S.
Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhall. And I'm U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull. As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.
So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose PennyMac. PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you. Learn more at PennyMac.com. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 35953. Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act.
Conditions and restrictions may apply. Ready to change your life for just $2 a day? Orange Theory Fitness delivers one-hour workouts that combine strength and cardio to help you burn fat, build muscle, and feel unstoppable. Right now, get a full month of unlimited classes for just $62. Don't wait, this offer ends soon.
Visit orangetheory.com or your local studio and start your transformation today. Offer ends January 31st, 2026. New members only, premier membership, performance monitor, and monthly billing required. Discount applies to first month only. Other terms apply.
See Studio for details. Who's that a knocking on my back? No uh It looks like Bob and Charlie Ford, how you doing, boys?
Well, come on in. And we continue with our American stories and the story of Jesse James. And it's being told by Roger McGrath. Let's pick up. where we last left off.
You open that safe now.
The key to the success for the James Gang has always been speed, quickness. Joseph Lee Haywood, the cashier that day, delayed them. When Joe Haywood, the bank cashier and Civil War veteran, Won't open the vault. Jesse James loses his temper and shoots him in the head. Clear the streets!
Jesse's men are firing off their guns, telling people to get back. This is kind of shock and awe in the middle of the street. But these people aren't being shocked, and they're not being awed. Townspeople are starting to fight back. They're coming to protect their bank.
By now, ordinary citizens. butchers, bakers, barbers, hardware merchants, farmers, and Nario Lawman among them. We're grabbing guns and giving the outlaws what for. Wheeling a rifle from the second floor of a hotel, college student and future physician. Henry Wheeler fatally shoots gang member Clell Miller.
It's pandemonium. The outlaws are firing revolvers, which are pretty inaccurate on horseback. The townspeople have shoulder guns. They're very accurate. These guys are getting shot to pieces on the street.
It was a complete disaster. for the James gang. and the only thing for them to do is to try to get out of town alive. Hardware merchant Ansel Manning blasts Bill Chadwall into eternity and then shoots Bob Younger's horse out from under him. Younger rolls free of his wounded mount and takes cover behind a staircase.
The outlaws return fire, but bullets are coming at them from several directions.
Some unarmed citizens throw rocks. After seven minutes of gunfighting, Jesse orders a retreat. And the gang splits up. Joseph Lee Haywood, the acting cashier that day, Was a thorn in the side to the plans of these robbers. He delayed them.
They don't get the money they come for. In fact, This safe was unlocked the whole time. Had they just tried that handle. it would have opened up and revealed about $15,000. The robbery is a complete failure.
Now the Minnesotans want justice. more than a thousand grab their firearms and formed posse in picket lines. triggering the largest man hunt in American history. There were at least a thousand men going after these guys. Yeah.
It was instant national news. Especially when the James gang was associated with this robbery. Jesse and Frank were Southern boys and murderers. They were hated in Minnesota, and everyone wanted to see them captured and brought to justice. Jesse and Frank.
go one way. But the youngers are apprehended. This is the ill-fated moment in the career where what had been a successful game. has reached a dead end. Over the course of the next two weeks, All of the James gang are either captured or killed, except for Frank and Jesse.
These guys were masters at concealing themselves and getting away. They had to do it all during the Civil War. They were always outnumbered. He always had people chasing them. Northfield was the biggest disaster the Jameses had experienced since the Civil War.
They lost. man that they had fought with. They both suffered. Gunshot wounds. But I think in a way mentally in some way they're wounded as well.
Frank and Jesse ride a circuitous 500 miles back home to Missouri with just $26.70 to show for their efforts. Frank, he ultimately thought. The way this is going. It's going to be a bullet or a news for them. But Jesse, he was die-hurt.
After losing every member of his gang, The most wanted man in America goes into hiding over the next several years. Jesse spends his time living under aliases as a family man.
Now with two children, In Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas. Then in 1879, with his spoils running low. and his name out of the press. Jesse returns to action with a new James game. And takes six thousand dollars from the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
At this point, He's just finding somebody that can hold a gun and hold a horse. and that hopefully is trustworthy. Jesse plans a job for April 4, 1882, in Platte City, Nebraska. A bank there is stuffed with cash. and needs his attention.
Two young and newly recruited gang members, Charles and Robert Ford, will go along. Charlie helped Jesse rob the Chicago and Alton Railroad. But Bob has yet to see any action. Jesse needs an extra man because he has a bank robbery planned in Platte City.
So he's willing to accept this young Bob Ford, who's Charlie's brother, because Jesse liked Charlie Ford, and I'm sure that Charlie vouched for Bob. They were not a ghost of what he'd had before. just common run of the mill backcountry thieves and killers. You don't have the people who were trained, if you will, during the war. America's most wanted outlaw.
doesn't realize it. It's not the wall I should be most afraid of. But his newest gang member, Bob Ford. who is secretly working for Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden. The governor has posted a $10,000 bounty for Jesse.
dead or alive. And Ford is determined to get it. Bob Ford was this media saturated fan. There's no better way to get close to the object of your admiration than to join his gang. And maybe in some way become a little bit like That's the picture of Bob Ford that we have today.
Before they leave for Platte City, Jesse and the Ford brothers meet for breakfast at Jesse's home. After enjoying a hearty meal prepared for them, Jesse's wife C. They retire to the living room to discuss their upcoming job. When Jesse steps up on a chair to straighten a picture, Bob Ford quickly draws his revolver and shoots Jesse through the back of the head. He topples to the floor and dies.
America's most notorious outlaw. is thirty-four years old. Bob and Charlie Ford are convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. In a matter of days, though, they receive a full pardon from Governor Crittenden. Nonetheless, the same governor fails to reward them.
with the $10,000 bounty. You know, Jesse James is already a hero to many people. When he's killed, he's now a martyr. And it's the way that he's killed. Had he been captured and tried and had he been executed?
it would have been much different. But this is a collusion between the governor of his state and a gang member. who shoots his leader in the back of the head. Two years later, 27-year-old Charlie Ford. Suffering from tuberculosis and morphine addicted.
shoots himself to death. with his own gun. A decade later, Bob Ford who wasn't celebrated as the hero he thought he should have been. is shot to death by Ed O'Kelly. Jesse reaches incredible new heights in the American imagination as a hero, as a martyr, and as a representative of the defeated South.
I grew up in Jesse James country. When I was a kid, Jesse James was a hero.
Now I see Jesse as a tragic consequence of an awful, awful war. which was a tragic consequence of an awful, awful institution. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks, as always, to regular contributor Roger McGrath, author of Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes: Violence on the Frontier. and he's a former UCLA history professor.
And he has appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries. He's a frequent contributor here on Our American Stories. What a story he told! The story of Jesse James. and so much more.
including the Civil War and Reconstruction. here on Our American Stories. Jesse Jesse One more shot just for old times. One last stand. One more hit oughta do it.
Then I quit while I can. One more shot just for old time. At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded.
It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At CVS, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters.
So visit us at cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. Yeah. Wasn't that delicious?
So good. Your bill, ladies. I got it. No, I got it. Seriously, I insist.
I insisted first. Oh, don't be silly. You know me. I'm silly. People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
Okay. Rock, paper, scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot! No!
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit Card. Visit wellsfargo.com/slash active cash. Terms apply. This is Radhi Devlukia from A Really Good Cry. I absolutely love being outdoors, even if it's just stepping outside for a bit of fresh air between meals or taking a mindful walk to clear my head.
But the one thing that can really ruin that is when my feet feel cramped in my shoes.
So I switched to ultra running, and honestly, it made such a difference. What I love most is their signature ultra fit comfort balance strength. They have this roomy toe box that lets my toes actually spread and move naturally. And I personally have some wide feet, so I really appreciate that. I feel more grounded and balanced with every single step.
It's like my feet can finally do their job. Using all those little muscles that make me feel stronger the more I move. Whether you're a marathon runner, beginner, or advanced, or just getting outside to train, ultras have become my go-to for running and moving mindfully. They fit so well, they're so comfortable, and they just move with you. Shop now at ultrarunning.com.
That's A-L-T-R-A running.com. Experience Ultra and stay out there. With their mustache, a taco in one hand, and ordering a rod in the other. Means you're stacking cash back. Nice.
Get up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash on your favorite brands when you pay with your Venmo debit card. From takeout to ride shares, entertainment, and more, pick a bundle with your go-to's and start earning cash back at those brands. Earn more cash when you do more with Stash. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply. Max $100 cash back per month.
See terms at venmo.me/slash stash terms. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Mm-hmm.
