JESSE JAMES (1847-1882)

As a teenager in Missouri, Jesse joined the Confederate army under the command of William C. Quantrill. As a member of “Quantrill’s Raiders” Jesse engaged in guerrilla tactics that caused heavy causalities of the Union forces. The first picture is during this time when he was around 16 (1863). The period of time after the Civil War saw the rise of the “outlaw” of the Wild West. Many of these men were unemployed and dissatisfied with daily life.

As a war veteran during Reconstruction, Jesse began his criminal career in order to support his mother and family in a new South overrun by carpetbaggers and scalawags. The second photo is what he looked like at the beginning of his outlaw days. He killed over 17 men and played part in many major bank and train robberies. Jesse considered himself a loyal southerner until his assassination by a member of his own gang.

QUESTION:

What effect did the Civil War have on the young people that fought in the war? Even though it officially ended in 1865 why did the war "continue" for many years after in the new period of the "Wild West"?

NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST (1821-1877)

To many loyal Southerners the Civil War was seen as the war of Northern aggression. When it began Nathan was already a millionaire having been born poor but getting rich in the slave business. He left his plantation and enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was the South's best strategist, capturing and killing unarmed Union soldiers (both Black and White) in the Battle of Fort Pillow which took place one year after this picture was taken (1863). Although Nathan was considered a military genius, like most CSA veterans, he found himself angered by the changes of Reconstruction in the South. He is considered to be a founding member and the original “Grand Wizard” of the mysterious Ku Klux Klan in 1867. The original purpose of the clan was to protect loyal white (and Black) Southerners from the greed (real and imagined) of the Northern carpetbaggers. He later ordered the group to disband after they became increasingly violent with their terrorist activities. Ironically he was known to be a supporter of Civil Rights for Blacks is his later life.

QUESTION:

The more I researched this guy the more mystery I uncovered. Some say he really never was that involved with the Klan and that they originally were for self-defense. Others say that he lied about not being involved so he could be in charge in secret! Um, what do you think he was - racist or loyal Southerner?

WILLIAM HARVEY CARNEY (1840-1908)

By using the Underground Railroad, William was able to escape slavery and flee to Massachusetts. It was there that he volunteered for the 54th Regiment under the command of Robert Shaw. He fought in the Battle of Fort Wagner where almost half the group suffered casualties. During the battle William picked up the regimental flag and saved it from being captured all the while under attack from Confederate forces. For this act of bravery he was awarded the Medal of Honor – the first Black person to ever receive the award.

QUESTION:

William and the rest of the men of the 54th were runaway slaves or, at the least, poor Blacks. Why was it so important for William to risk his life for an army that wouldn't even let him fight alongside white soldiers? Why was he proud to represent the US army?

ROBERT GOULD SHAW (1837-1863)

Robert was born into a family of wealthy abolitionists in the greatest town in the United States, the City of Boston. After seeing action in the Battle of Antietam he was promoted to command the first all Black army unit – the 54th Regiment of the US army. Noticing the racist attitudes of the Union army he sympathized with his soldiers and was inspired by them. He was killed in the Battle of Fort Wagner after trying to lead a rally against the Confederate troops. Shaw was buried with his men, which his parents considered to be an honor.

QUESTION:

There are MANY wealthy families in the history of the US that did not sacrifice ANY of their members in defense of the country. (Think all the way back to Jamestown and the Revolutionary War). Why is it that Robert and his family were dedicated to the abolition of slavery to the point that he died with his Black soldiers for it?

FREDERICK DOUGLASS (1818-1895)

Douglass was a runaway slave in the period before the Civil War. Once he found his way North, Douglass began to be an active member in the abolitionist movement. His eloquent speeches such as “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro” questioned the idea of “freedom” in a country that allowed slavery. The first picture is three years after that speech (1855) in which we see Fred in a youthful manner.

When the Civil War broke out Douglass was asked by the governor of Massachusetts to help recruit volunteers for first all Black group of soldiers. Two of his sons enlisted under the command of Colonel Robert Shaw. During Reconstruction Fred continued to speak against the injustices suffered by ex-slaves in the form of Black Codes. The second photo (1879) is the more recognizable image of Douglass. By this time slavery had long been abolished and Douglass widened his scope to include other social issues.

In the last shot (1885) we see him with his second wife Helen Pitts (far right) and her sister. Helen was a feminist and met Douglass when he was a part of the
Women’s Suffrage movement. She was twenty years younger and white, and some of her family disapproved of the marriage. The feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, friends of the couple, defended the marriage.

QUESTION:

When people talk about Frederick they usually limit the conversation to his abolitionist activity. As you just read he was involved with many movements throughout his life. What kind of example does this set for people that are trying to help change the world in small steps?

DRED SCOTT (1799-1858)

Like many descendants of Africans in the US, Dred was born into slavery. Thinking that the US was a country that had “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” Dred sued his master in order to be set free. After a series of trials, his lawsuit appeared before the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country. In the case of Scott v. Sandford Dred’s freedom was…DENIED! The court ruled that he was not a person but property and therefore not a citizen of the United States as stated by the Declaration of Independence of Thomas Jefferson. This led many people to more increased tensions that would turn into a Civil War. In this photo taken in 1857 we see Dred a few months before he was finally granted freedom and then suddenly died from tuberculosis.

QUESTION:

Did you think that Dred had any idea that his case was going to become part of national history? Why did he do it? What message did the Supreme Court send to all abolitionists and slaves when it decided Dred's case?

JOHN BROWN (1800-1859)

The road to the Civil War was long and began to divide the nation between Americans from the North and South. A series of compromising laws did little to abate the tensions between the regions. As a minister and abolitionist, Brown believed in an aggressive ends to slavery. After the Kansas-Nebraska Act he went into Kansas to ensure that abolitionists had proper representation in the territory. This is what he looked like in 1856 around the time he murdered 5 white people that were pro-slavery in what began the summer of “Bleeding Kansas.” He would later go on to raid the armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia hoping to capture weapons to begin a national slave revolt. He was captured and hanged by the US government in order to set an example.

QUESTION:

Did you know that John Wilkes Boothe, the guy who killed Abe Lincoln, was at the execution of John Brown? Why did his murder get both Northerners and Southerns angry enough to start thinking about Civil War?

JUAN CORTINA (1824-1892)

When the United States won new lands after the Mexican-American War many Mexicans were suddenly considered “foreigners” in lands they had been living on for hundreds of years. In Texas, whites revoked deeds to land that had always been Mexican owned because it was now part of the US. Juan was a wealthy landowner that did not passively accept the anti-Mexican, racist attitudes in Texas. He killed a white man that was beating up on one of his workers and then later freed more from prisons. Although this made him a criminal in the state, he survived and would later serve as a leader in the Union army for the Civil War. In this photo (1870) he had was in good standing with carpetbaggers that were buying up land in Texas during Reconstruction.

QUESTION:

I actually didn't know about Juanito until I started researching Manifest Destiny. He's actually the first "Latino" that fits into US History that I can think of. He actually made a big speech that warned all white Texans to back off or he would kill them for being racist. Why do you think that people like Juan are not generally well known in US history?