MUSEUM OF MODERN MYTHOLOGY AND POP CULTURE

JESSE JAMES

1847-1882. Jesse Woodson James was born in the area of present day Kearney, Missouri. Violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery militias during the Civil War brought about guerrilla warfare, and there is controversy over whether Jesse road with the notorious William C. Quantrill. Wounded during the war, Jesse later emerged as a bank/train robber. The emergence of Jesse's second self, the legendary character, began in his lifetime as he became a Confederate symbol of defiance. His place in history is debated endlessly---fighting against the industrial society that was destroying the agrarian way of life, or ruthless bank and train robber? Museums, festivals and other Jesse James celebrations take place in areas of the country where he robbed banks. Jesse James was used as a fictional character in novels, some published while he was alive, and he continues in comic books, songs, books, movies, TV, and other forms of media, another real person who also became a legend.

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