1. TBN
  2. Programs
  3. centuries collide tbn version
  4. Episodes
  5. Cody Crouch: OG's | Centuries Collide
Centuries Collide TBN Version

Cody Crouch: OG's | Centuries Collide

December 4, 2024 | S2:E7

Cody Crouch: OG's | Centuries Collide
Host Cody Crouch takes us on an unforgettable ride through the moments that made the U.S.A. the country it is today.
#AmericanHistory #WorldHistory #War #History #Culture #Government #inActive #Movies/Film #Documentary #Gangs

Closed captions

Show Timecode
Centuries Collide TBN Version | Cody Crouch: OG's | Centuries Collide | December 4, 2024
  • - i am cody crouch.
  • 00:00:01.825 --> 00:00:03.059
  • On my new show, centuries collide: american history, i'm
  • 00:00:03.059 --> 00:00:05.695
  • Traveling across the united states uncovering the incredibly
  • 00:00:05.695 --> 00:00:09.766
  • True history of what makes our nation so great.
  • 00:00:09.766 --> 00:00:13.536
  • We're recreating some of american history's greatest
  • 00:00:13.536 --> 00:00:15.972
  • Moments, exactly how they happened.
  • 00:00:15.972 --> 00:00:18.007
  • - didn't you think the rock would be bigger?
  • 00:00:18.007 --> 00:00:20.276
  • - welcome to the craziest, strangest, most whateverest
  • 00:00:20.276 --> 00:00:23.379
  • Crash course on american history.
  • 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:26.116
  • Buckle up.
  • 00:00:26.116 --> 00:00:27.217
  • It's time for centuries collide.
  • 00:00:27.217 --> 00:00:30.019
  • Howdy, partner.
  • 00:00:30.019 --> 00:00:30.787
  • Welcome to centuries collide.
  • 00:00:30.787 --> 00:00:31.921
  • At this point in america's history, it's the 1860s.
  • 00:00:31.921 --> 00:00:36.025
  • We've been through a lot.
  • 00:00:36.025 --> 00:00:37.227
  • We've survived the civil war.
  • 00:00:37.227 --> 00:00:38.828
  • The union is intact, and thanks to railroads, our civilization
  • 00:00:38.828 --> 00:00:42.699
  • Is spreading faster and farther than ever before, from the east
  • 00:00:42.699 --> 00:00:46.035
  • Coast to the west coast and everything in between.
  • 00:00:46.035 --> 00:00:49.272
  • America looks a little something like this.
  • 00:00:49.272 --> 00:00:51.341
  • You've got all the familiar states on the east coast,
  • 00:00:51.341 --> 00:00:53.943
  • California on the west coast, and all these territories in
  • 00:00:53.943 --> 00:00:57.046
  • Between.
  • 00:00:57.046 --> 00:00:58.414
  • This is the american frontier, and let me tell you, this place
  • 00:00:58.414 --> 00:01:01.818
  • Is wild.
  • 00:01:01.818 --> 00:01:03.419
  • Gold diggers are headed out here to the west.
  • 00:01:03.419 --> 00:01:05.088
  • Native americans are desperately cleaning their land and their
  • 00:01:05.088 --> 00:01:08.324
  • Way of life.
  • 00:01:08.324 --> 00:01:09.626
  • Freed black men are forging their own paths, and cattlemen
  • 00:01:09.626 --> 00:01:12.095
  • Are just trying to take care of their cattle man.
  • 00:01:12.095 --> 00:01:15.665
  • But one character looms a little larger than the rest way out
  • 00:01:15.665 --> 00:01:19.903
  • Here in the west.
  • 00:01:19.903 --> 00:01:20.937
  • It's the american outlaw.
  • 00:01:20.937 --> 00:01:22.739
  • This is the era of jesse james, butch cassidy, and billy the
  • 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:27.076
  • Kid, or as i like to call this cast of characters, the ogs.
  • 00:01:27.076 --> 00:01:30.747
  • The original gangsters.
  • 00:01:30.747 --> 00:01:35.018
  • As americans, we have a habit of not liking rules, never more
  • 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:39.389
  • Obvious than in the late 1800s.
  • 00:01:39.389 --> 00:01:42.959
  • In the words of a great american war hero, obi-wan kenobi, you'll
  • 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:47.363
  • Never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
  • 00:01:47.363 --> 00:01:51.201
  • Welcome to the wild wild west.
  • 00:01:51.201 --> 00:01:53.403
  • Saddle up, partner.
  • 00:01:53.403 --> 00:01:54.137
  • It's time for centuries collide.
  • 00:01:54.137 --> 00:01:56.506
  • (music playing)
  • 00:01:56.506 --> 00:02:15.858
  • The year is 1865.
  • 00:02:15.858 --> 00:02:18.261
  • The civil war is over, america's rebuilding, and we're finally
  • 00:02:18.261 --> 00:02:21.664
  • Getting back to what we do best; expanding.
  • 00:02:21.664 --> 00:02:25.335
  • By now, the east was pretty well settled.
  • 00:02:25.335 --> 00:02:27.737
  • The roads were paved with brick, the culture was well
  • 00:02:27.737 --> 00:02:31.708
  • Established, and laws were in place.
  • 00:02:31.708 --> 00:02:33.209
  • And if you've been paying attention to american history so
  • 00:02:33.209 --> 00:02:36.045
  • Far, you may have noticed that folks around these parts don't
  • 00:02:36.045 --> 00:02:39.015
  • Take timely to too many rules.
  • 00:02:39.015 --> 00:02:42.986
  • The east was old news, and americans were looking for
  • 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:48.358
  • Something shiny and new like gold.
  • 00:02:48.358 --> 00:02:51.928
  • Let's rewind a little bit to january 18th, 1848.
  • 00:02:51.928 --> 00:02:55.231
  • A man by the name of james w.
  • 00:02:55.231 --> 00:02:57.500
  • Marshall was overseeing the construction of a sawman.
  • 00:02:57.500 --> 00:03:01.504
  • While his crew is working, james made an important discovery.
  • 00:03:01.504 --> 00:03:07.877
  • - we've got her now boys.
  • 00:03:07.877 --> 00:03:11.114
  • - the gold found on that construction site, just a few
  • 00:03:11.114 --> 00:03:13.283
  • Miles north of here, was the real deal.
  • 00:03:13.283 --> 00:03:16.452
  • Even president james k. polk said so.
  • 00:03:16.452 --> 00:03:19.355
  • - it's so shiny, i can see my future in it.
  • 00:03:19.355 --> 00:03:22.225
  • - that little piece of gold is what inspired the california
  • 00:03:22.225 --> 00:03:25.728
  • Gold rush.
  • 00:03:25.728 --> 00:03:27.096
  • In fact, the next year, 1849, about a hundred thousand people
  • 00:03:27.096 --> 00:03:31.801
  • Flooded to california in search of gold.
  • 00:03:31.801 --> 00:03:34.504
  • - and that's how they got the name the 49ers, just like the
  • 00:03:34.504 --> 00:03:38.875
  • Football team.
  • 00:03:38.875 --> 00:03:40.610
  • Ouch.
  • 00:03:40.910 --> 00:03:43.379
  • - all of these people heading west needed tools and supplies,
  • 00:03:44.681 --> 00:03:48.251
  • Places to stay, restaurants to eat in, saloons to drink in,
  • 00:03:48.251 --> 00:03:52.722
  • Fancy shoes for their horses.
  • 00:03:52.722 --> 00:03:54.490
  • All of this attracted a lot of legit professionals like
  • 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:57.560
  • Bankers, miners, lawyers, as well as some not legit
  • 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:02.665
  • Professionals like gangsters.
  • 00:04:02.665 --> 00:04:05.335
  • But then, we interrupt this regularly scheduled program for
  • 00:04:05.335 --> 00:04:09.038
  • The american civil war.
  • 00:04:09.038 --> 00:04:11.274
  • It was a war that pitted brother against brother and friend
  • 00:04:12.475 --> 00:04:14.944
  • Against friend.
  • 00:04:14.944 --> 00:04:16.279
  • The union states in the north emerged victorious against the
  • 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.415
  • Confederate states in the south.
  • 00:04:19.415 --> 00:04:21.751
  • The reason for this brutal conflict was the argument over
  • 00:04:21.751 --> 00:04:25.488
  • State rights and slavery.
  • 00:04:25.488 --> 00:04:27.390
  • With the union fighting for the preservation of the nation and
  • 00:04:27.390 --> 00:04:30.426
  • The confederacy fighting for their independence, the civil
  • 00:04:30.426 --> 00:04:33.596
  • War became the bloodiest showdown in american history,
  • 00:04:33.596 --> 00:04:37.400
  • And it was brutal.
  • 00:04:37.400 --> 00:04:38.701
  • For the first time in war, sharp shooters and snipers were a
  • 00:04:38.701 --> 00:04:41.804
  • Thing.
  • 00:04:41.804 --> 00:04:43.106
  • Cavalry charges in cannon fire ripped through the battle lines.
  • 00:04:43.106 --> 00:04:47.043
  • Bravery and honor clashed in a battle for the very soul of the
  • 00:04:47.043 --> 00:04:51.514
  • Nation.
  • 00:04:51.514 --> 00:04:52.882
  • Despite the staggering losses on both sides, the north's victory
  • 00:04:52.882 --> 00:04:56.486
  • Ensured the preservation of our union and the end of slavery.
  • 00:04:56.486 --> 00:05:01.190
  • Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
  • 00:05:01.190 --> 00:05:05.328
  • So back to 1865 and back to american expansion.
  • 00:05:05.328 --> 00:05:08.197
  • The east equals old news and lots of rules.
  • 00:05:08.197 --> 00:05:12.835
  • But out here in the west, it's pure frontier, wild and untamed
  • 00:05:12.835 --> 00:05:16.973
  • Cowboys and indians, gun slingers and pioneers, yes,
  • 00:05:16.973 --> 00:05:20.676
  • Gangsters.
  • 00:05:20.676 --> 00:05:21.744
  • Gangsters just like william henry mccarty jr.
  • 00:05:21.744 --> 00:05:26.015
  • (music playing)
  • 00:05:26.015 --> 00:05:31.087
  • William was born in 1859.
  • 00:05:31.087 --> 00:05:33.656
  • And like the wrong kind of salsa, his story starts all the
  • 00:05:33.656 --> 00:05:36.459
  • Way back on the east coast in new york city.
  • 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:39.762
  • - new york city?
  • 00:05:39.762 --> 00:05:43.132
  • I don't care how big their apples are.
  • 00:05:43.132 --> 00:05:45.701
  • I don't want them in my salsa.
  • 00:05:45.701 --> 00:05:48.404
  • - you better watch your mouth when you're talking about me.
  • 00:05:49.672 --> 00:05:52.475
  • (music playing)
  • 00:05:52.475 --> 00:05:57.213
  • Like most of our gangsters, william had a pretty tough life.
  • 00:05:57.213 --> 00:05:59.749
  • His father died when he was just a kid.
  • 00:05:59.749 --> 00:06:02.685
  • His mom moved him to kansas city, got remarried, and
  • 00:06:02.685 --> 00:06:06.589
  • Eventually moved him to new mexico.
  • 00:06:06.589 --> 00:06:08.858
  • There, william fit in pretty well.
  • 00:06:08.858 --> 00:06:10.927
  • Before long, he was even fluent in spanish
  • 00:06:10.927 --> 00:06:13.496
  • - (speaking spanish)
  • 00:06:13.496 --> 00:06:16.466
  • Excuse me, señor.
  • 00:06:16.466 --> 00:06:18.067
  • Donde esta la biblioteca?
  • 00:06:18.067 --> 00:06:21.804
  • - but then in 1874, his mother passed away of tuberculosis,
  • 00:06:23.039 --> 00:06:26.709
  • Which is the disease people have when they cough in movies.
  • 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:30.880
  • And then his stepfather abandoned him at the age of 14.
  • 00:06:30.880 --> 00:06:34.817
  • Little orphan willie spent the next few years in boarding
  • 00:06:34.817 --> 00:06:38.020
  • Houses in foster homes and eventually fell in with a pretty
  • 00:06:38.020 --> 00:06:41.324
  • Rough crowd.
  • 00:06:41.324 --> 00:06:44.494
  • - you look sad.
  • 00:06:44.594 --> 00:06:45.628
  • You want to get into some trouble?
  • 00:06:45.628 --> 00:06:49.165
  • - sounds mighty fine.
  • 00:06:49.165 --> 00:06:50.533
  • - william would get his own gangster nickname, but not until
  • 00:06:50.533 --> 00:06:53.970
  • He committed his first official crime, which goes something like
  • 00:06:53.970 --> 00:06:58.074
  • This.
  • 00:06:58.074 --> 00:06:59.642
  • He and sombrero jack steal clothing from a chinese laundry.
  • 00:06:59.742 --> 00:07:02.879
  • Okay.
  • 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:04.180
  • I know this sounds like the setup for a super racist walk
  • 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:06.716
  • Into a bar joke, but what can i say?
  • 00:07:06.716 --> 00:07:09.986
  • History's just not whoa y'all.
  • 00:07:09.986 --> 00:07:12.355
  • And that's the story of how william and sombrero jack got
  • 00:07:12.355 --> 00:07:16.025
  • Away with possibly the lamest crime in the wild wild west.
  • 00:07:16.025 --> 00:07:20.763
  • But william didn't really get away with it.
  • 00:07:20.763 --> 00:07:23.900
  • He was caught and sent to the local jailhouse.
  • 00:07:23.900 --> 00:07:27.103
  • Don't worry, just like an og, he escaped by pulling the classic
  • 00:07:27.103 --> 00:07:32.041
  • Reverse santa claus maneuver through the jailhouse chimney.
  • 00:07:32.041 --> 00:07:35.344
  • - feliz navidad.
  • 00:07:35.344 --> 00:07:36.746
  • - that's right.
  • 00:07:36.746 --> 00:07:37.980
  • He literally climbed his way up and out of the chimney.
  • 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:41.284
  • William was now an outlaw.
  • 00:07:41.284 --> 00:07:43.119
  • He survived by working as a ranch hand, a gambler, and a
  • 00:07:43.119 --> 00:07:45.821
  • Gang member.
  • 00:07:45.821 --> 00:07:47.189
  • He taught himself to shoot with a winchester rifle and a colt
  • 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:49.992
  • Revolver.
  • 00:07:49.992 --> 00:07:51.327
  • And then in august of 1877, shot and killed his first man right
  • 00:07:51.327 --> 00:07:54.764
  • Here in an arizona saloon.
  • 00:07:54.764 --> 00:07:57.567
  • - i'll take that.
  • 00:07:57.567 --> 00:08:01.571
  • - little willie had moved on to major crimes and eventually got
  • 00:08:01.671 --> 00:08:05.107
  • That gangster nickname.
  • 00:08:05.107 --> 00:08:07.009
  • - sombrero jack.
  • 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.512
  • Look.
  • 00:08:09.512 --> 00:08:10.680
  • I got my own nickname.
  • 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:12.582
  • - look at that.
  • 00:08:12.582 --> 00:08:15.251
  • - that's right.
  • 00:08:15.718 --> 00:08:16.786
  • Thanks to his tiny size and childish looks.
  • 00:08:16.786 --> 00:08:18.254
  • William mccarty became famously known as billy the kid.
  • 00:08:18.254 --> 00:08:22.825
  • But in 1878, billy really earned his reputation as a gun sling
  • 00:08:22.825 --> 00:08:27.830
  • And bad boy in a bloody turf war in new mexico between two rival
  • 00:08:27.830 --> 00:08:31.634
  • Captain.
  • 00:08:31.634 --> 00:08:33.202
  • All right.
  • 00:08:33.202 --> 00:08:34.437
  • So you remember how the east had all those pesky rules?
  • 00:08:34.437 --> 00:08:36.072
  • Well, it turns out, with all that law and order, actually
  • 00:08:36.072 --> 00:08:40.710
  • Comes a lot more safety.
  • 00:08:40.710 --> 00:08:42.078
  • But the western frontier was expanding so fast that law and
  • 00:08:42.078 --> 00:08:46.215
  • Order had a hard time catching up.
  • 00:08:46.215 --> 00:08:47.817
  • - pardon me.
  • 00:08:47.817 --> 00:08:49.151
  • - there became a rivalry between two paddle tycoons, the british,
  • 00:08:49.151 --> 00:08:52.421
  • John tunstall, on one side and two irishmen, james dolan and
  • 00:08:52.421 --> 00:08:56.626
  • Lawrence murphy on the other.
  • 00:08:56.626 --> 00:08:57.893
  • - yeah.
  • 00:08:57.893 --> 00:08:58.561
  • Do that.
  • 00:08:58.561 --> 00:08:59.228
  • All right.
  • 00:08:59.228 --> 00:08:59.895
  • Spin it around.
  • 00:08:59.895 --> 00:09:00.963
  • - that's a nice little gun you've got there.
  • 00:09:00.963 --> 00:09:01.931
  • Where'd you get it?
  • 00:09:01.931 --> 00:09:03.265
  • - british john hired billy the kid to be a part of his posse,
  • 00:09:03.265 --> 00:09:05.601
  • And they called themselves the regulators.
  • 00:09:05.601 --> 00:09:08.270
  • (music playing)
  • 00:09:08.270 --> 00:09:12.475
  • Ultimately, their boss was murdered by a posse, organized
  • 00:09:12.475 --> 00:09:15.645
  • By a crooked sheriff who supported the irish duo, that
  • 00:09:15.645 --> 00:09:19.515
  • When billy the kid and the regulators went and assassinated
  • 00:09:19.515 --> 00:09:22.918
  • The sheriff and spent the next several months in a bloody turf
  • 00:09:22.918 --> 00:09:26.122
  • War known as the lincoln county war.
  • 00:09:26.122 --> 00:09:30.526
  • Billy the kid survived the lincoln county war and his
  • 00:09:30.526 --> 00:09:33.396
  • Reputation as one of the most skilled gunmen in the west
  • 00:09:33.396 --> 00:09:36.899
  • Became legendary.
  • 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:37.933
  • But billy couldn't outrun the law forever.
  • 00:09:37.933 --> 00:09:41.370
  • Eventually, he was caught and shot to death by a not so
  • 00:09:41.370 --> 00:09:45.941
  • Crooked sheriff named pat garrett, the young age of 22.
  • 00:09:45.941 --> 00:09:49.745
  • This baby-faced outlaw lived at a time of frontier justice.
  • 00:09:49.745 --> 00:09:54.550
  • If you were a young, fast-thinking, quick-draw, and
  • 00:09:54.550 --> 00:09:57.253
  • Rebel, you could survive at least for a while.
  • 00:09:57.253 --> 00:10:00.890
  • But you could also make a big name for yourself, and in the
  • 00:10:00.890 --> 00:10:03.626
  • Future, have movies and tv shows made about your life.
  • 00:10:03.626 --> 00:10:08.097
  • And if you're really lucky, brad pitt might just play you.
  • 00:10:08.197 --> 00:10:11.200
  • Just ask our next og, jesse james.
  • 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:14.303
  • (music playing)
  • 00:10:14.303 --> 00:10:19.809
  • Now remember, history ain't woke, so let me break it down
  • 00:10:19.809 --> 00:10:22.945
  • For you.
  • 00:10:22.945 --> 00:10:24.313
  • Jesse's family were slave owning farmers from kearney, missouri,
  • 00:10:24.313 --> 00:10:27.717
  • And they were hardcore confederates, as in the bad guys
  • 00:10:27.717 --> 00:10:32.621
  • In the civil war.
  • 00:10:32.621 --> 00:10:33.923
  • When the war started, jesse's older brother, frank, proudly
  • 00:10:33.923 --> 00:10:38.527
  • Went to go fight for the confederacy, leaving his little
  • 00:10:38.527 --> 00:10:40.529
  • Brother behind.
  • 00:10:40.529 --> 00:10:42.565
  • Jesse's older brother, frank, was quite the original gangster
  • 00:10:42.565 --> 00:10:46.001
  • Himself, like the worst kind.
  • 00:10:46.001 --> 00:10:48.037
  • He hung around a rowdy group of pro-confederate gorilla
  • 00:10:48.037 --> 00:10:51.273
  • Warriors, and they were so notorious and wanted that a
  • 00:10:51.273 --> 00:10:55.411
  • Union militia known as the jayhawkers showed up to jesse's
  • 00:10:55.411 --> 00:10:58.914
  • House looking for frank.
  • 00:10:58.914 --> 00:11:01.117
  • The jayhawkers allegedly roughed up young jesse and then tortured
  • 00:11:01.117 --> 00:11:06.555
  • His stepfather for information on frank.
  • 00:11:06.555 --> 00:11:09.925
  • Whatever happened that day was bad enough to turn 16-year-old
  • 00:11:09.925 --> 00:11:13.763
  • Jesse to the dark side.
  • 00:11:13.763 --> 00:11:15.931
  • - come to the dark side.
  • 00:11:15.931 --> 00:11:17.800
  • It's the only way to save your friends.
  • 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:22.104
  • Jesse james gave in to the anger and hate.
  • 00:11:22.104 --> 00:11:26.142
  • He joined his own bloodthirsty gorilla group of case law
  • 00:11:26.142 --> 00:11:30.246
  • Confederates known as the bushwhackers.
  • 00:11:30.246 --> 00:11:32.214
  • - we're the bushwhackers.
  • 00:11:32.214 --> 00:11:35.551
  • A gorilla gang.
  • 00:11:35.551 --> 00:11:36.752
  • (music playing)
  • 00:11:36.752 --> 00:11:42.725
  • - jesse and the bushwhackers reigned fiery terror on their
  • 00:11:42.725 --> 00:11:45.494
  • Union enemies, the jayhawkers.
  • 00:11:45.494 --> 00:11:47.596
  • The bloodiest and most ruthless of these battles was known as
  • 00:11:47.596 --> 00:11:50.733
  • The centralia massacre.
  • 00:11:50.733 --> 00:11:53.269
  • Picture this.
  • 00:11:53.269 --> 00:11:54.103
  • It's 9:00 o'clock in the morning.
  • 00:11:54.103 --> 00:11:56.372
  • Jesse james and his fellow bushwhackers disguised as union
  • 00:11:56.372 --> 00:11:58.774
  • Soldiers invade the small town of centralia, missouri.
  • 00:11:58.774 --> 00:12:01.844
  • They loot the town and they drink whiskey from stolen boots.
  • 00:12:01.844 --> 00:12:05.748
  • - hold up, pretty lady.
  • 00:12:05.748 --> 00:12:08.050
  • We ain't done with you yet.
  • 00:12:08.050 --> 00:12:09.885
  • You ain't leaving till you pour that their whiskey in my boot.
  • 00:12:09.885 --> 00:12:13.622
  • - what's according to scientific study is equally mean and
  • 00:12:13.622 --> 00:12:17.226
  • Disgusting.
  • 00:12:17.226 --> 00:12:18.594
  • The bushwhackers then stopped a train full of union soldiers who
  • 00:12:18.594 --> 00:12:21.330
  • Were returning home from the civil war.
  • 00:12:21.330 --> 00:12:23.666
  • Jesse and his posse brutally massacred 24 unarmed soldiers.
  • 00:12:23.666 --> 00:12:28.737
  • They scalped and mutilated their bodies and then torched the
  • 00:12:28.737 --> 00:12:33.409
  • Train for good measure.
  • 00:12:33.409 --> 00:12:34.243
  • (music playing)
  • 00:12:34.243 --> 00:12:39.081
  • Jesse james was only a teenager when all this happened.
  • 00:12:39.081 --> 00:12:42.418
  • All this anger, violence, and hate was sadly doing a number on
  • 00:12:42.418 --> 00:12:47.389
  • Him.
  • 00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:48.724
  • After the civil war, most people calmed down, but not jesse and
  • 00:12:48.724 --> 00:12:51.994
  • Frank james.
  • 00:12:51.994 --> 00:12:53.162
  • They were humiliated by the loss of the civil war.
  • 00:12:53.162 --> 00:12:55.564
  • They saw themselves as the victims and they refused to live
  • 00:12:55.564 --> 00:12:59.635
  • Under the villainous tyrannical rule of abraham lincoln.
  • 00:12:59.635 --> 00:13:05.474
  • - you know what i think about this guy?
  • 00:13:05.474 --> 00:13:07.076
  • - oh, yeah.
  • 00:13:07.076 --> 00:13:07.743
  • I hate him.
  • 00:13:07.743 --> 00:13:09.845
  • - yeah.
  • 00:13:09.845 --> 00:13:10.846
  • - i hope he watches the worst play ever.
  • 00:13:10.846 --> 00:13:12.548
  • - encore.
  • 00:13:12.548 --> 00:13:13.182
  • - me too.
  • 00:13:13.182 --> 00:13:13.883
  • - yes.
  • 00:13:13.883 --> 00:13:14.984
  • These guys were the worst.
  • 00:13:14.984 --> 00:13:17.786
  • A few years later, frank and jesse strike again.
  • 00:13:17.786 --> 00:13:20.956
  • And this time, they rob a bank, but they only make off with some
  • 00:13:20.956 --> 00:13:24.960
  • Worth of paper.
  • 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:25.995
  • - we lost them again.
  • 00:13:25.995 --> 00:13:27.196
  • - we always lose.
  • 00:13:27.196 --> 00:13:30.232
  • - no.
  • 00:13:30.232 --> 00:13:31.600
  • - the newspapers started taking notice, and just like a gen z
  • 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.436
  • Kid with low self-esteem, jesse couldn't get enough of the
  • 00:13:34.436 --> 00:13:38.107
  • Attention.
  • 00:13:38.107 --> 00:13:39.308
  • - looking like you're wanted dead or alive, jesse.
  • 00:13:39.308 --> 00:13:44.113
  • - yeah.
  • 00:13:44.113 --> 00:13:44.780
  • Wanted by most women.
  • 00:13:44.780 --> 00:13:47.683
  • - jesse actually started adapting his crime strategy to
  • 00:13:47.683 --> 00:13:51.186
  • What would get the most media attention.
  • 00:13:51.186 --> 00:13:53.689
  • Sometimes he'd even leave his own press release at the scene
  • 00:13:53.689 --> 00:13:57.159
  • Of the crime.
  • 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:58.427
  • Diabolical?
  • 00:13:58.427 --> 00:13:59.595
  • Absolutely, but way ahead of the curve.
  • 00:13:59.595 --> 00:14:02.665
  • I mean, guys, listen.
  • 00:14:02.665 --> 00:14:04.033
  • This is 150 years before the kardashians.
  • 00:14:04.033 --> 00:14:07.136
  • - we've been robbed.
  • 00:14:07.136 --> 00:14:08.837
  • Somebody help.
  • 00:14:08.837 --> 00:14:09.805
  • We've been robbed.
  • 00:14:09.805 --> 00:14:10.673
  • - oh, no.
  • 00:14:10.673 --> 00:14:11.640
  • Its okay, honey.
  • 00:14:11.640 --> 00:14:12.675
  • The robber left a press release.
  • 00:14:12.675 --> 00:14:14.610
  • You have been robbed by jesse james.
  • 00:14:14.610 --> 00:14:19.448
  • But don't worry, jesse is not a bad guy.
  • 00:14:19.448 --> 00:14:22.818
  • He's actually the good guy here because he's an underprivileged
  • 00:14:22.818 --> 00:14:26.188
  • Southerner who deserves the money more than you do.
  • 00:14:26.188 --> 00:14:30.526
  • Also, he super good looking and hot.
  • 00:14:30.526 --> 00:14:36.966
  • - well, that puts me at ease.
  • 00:14:36.966 --> 00:14:39.368
  • (music playing)
  • 00:14:39.368 --> 00:14:45.507
  • - jesse found a friend and ally in a newspaper editor named john
  • 00:14:45.507 --> 00:14:48.344
  • Newman edwards.
  • 00:14:48.344 --> 00:14:50.646
  • Together, these two were going to stick it to the union man
  • 00:14:50.646 --> 00:14:53.215
  • With their twisted anti-republican fake news.
  • 00:14:53.215 --> 00:14:57.052
  • - i don't want to be known just for my good looks.
  • 00:14:57.052 --> 00:15:00.956
  • I want the people to know that i'm bold and heroic.
  • 00:15:00.956 --> 00:15:07.696
  • - we are not thieves.
  • 00:15:08.263 --> 00:15:11.066
  • We are bold robbers.
  • 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.305
  • I am not ashamed of the name for alexander the great was a bold
  • 00:15:16.405 --> 00:15:22.911
  • Robber.
  • 00:15:22.911 --> 00:15:25.748
  • Julius caesar and napoleon bonaparte.
  • 00:15:25.848 --> 00:15:32.855
  • - i don't know.
  • 00:15:32.955 --> 00:15:34.023
  • Too much?
  • 00:15:34.023 --> 00:15:35.491
  • - well, i always tell them, you're on the right side of
  • 00:15:35.491 --> 00:15:37.826
  • History.
  • 00:15:37.826 --> 00:15:40.662
  • - well, am i?
  • 00:15:40.662 --> 00:15:41.530
  • - does it matter?
  • 00:15:41.530 --> 00:15:45.234
  • - not that he ever did anything to help the poor, but the public
  • 00:15:45.234 --> 00:15:48.303
  • Ate it up.
  • 00:15:48.303 --> 00:15:48.937
  • (music playing)
  • 00:15:48.937 --> 00:15:55.277
  • In the 1870s, jesse and his gang went on a legendary crime spree.
  • 00:15:55.277 --> 00:15:59.181
  • They robbed trains, banks, stage coaches.
  • 00:15:59.181 --> 00:16:02.951
  • They looted businesses and they killed innocent people, and they
  • 00:16:02.951 --> 00:16:06.488
  • Kept getting away with it.
  • 00:16:06.488 --> 00:16:07.489
  • But how?
  • 00:16:07.489 --> 00:16:08.690
  • Because people actually believed all this fake news.
  • 00:16:08.690 --> 00:16:13.529
  • Seriously, jesse had created an image of a hero in the eyes of
  • 00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:17.533
  • Southern sympathizers who believed that the confederates
  • 00:16:17.533 --> 00:16:20.602
  • Were on the right side of history.
  • 00:16:20.602 --> 00:16:22.871
  • So they hid jesse in their homes and they covered for his
  • 00:16:22.871 --> 00:16:26.542
  • Terrible crimes.
  • 00:16:26.542 --> 00:16:28.844
  • That would never work today, right?
  • 00:16:29.645 --> 00:16:31.380
  • Can you imagine if a group of people toured the united states
  • 00:16:31.380 --> 00:16:35.951
  • Rioting and looting businesses, and then using the media to spin
  • 00:16:35.951 --> 00:16:40.255
  • A tale, how they were the victims, the robin hood for the
  • 00:16:40.255 --> 00:16:43.725
  • Common man, when really they just kept all the money and
  • 00:16:43.725 --> 00:16:46.495
  • Never built back the communities?
  • 00:16:46.495 --> 00:16:47.963
  • You'd never get away with that today, right?
  • 00:16:47.963 --> 00:16:51.166
  • Right?
  • 00:16:51.166 --> 00:16:52.501
  • But anyway, by 1876, jesse and his gang started feeling a
  • 00:16:52.501 --> 00:16:58.006
  • Little too unstoppable.
  • 00:16:58.006 --> 00:17:00.008
  • They ventured up to minnesota, hundreds of miles north and far
  • 00:17:00.008 --> 00:17:03.679
  • From their southern sympathizing friends.
  • 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:06.014
  • When jesse tried to rob a bank, these minnesota town folk shut
  • 00:17:06.014 --> 00:17:09.952
  • Him down.
  • 00:17:09.952 --> 00:17:11.353
  • They shot two members of jesse's gang and hunted the other ones
  • 00:17:11.353 --> 00:17:13.989
  • Down.
  • 00:17:13.989 --> 00:17:15.023
  • And once again, only jesse and frank escaped.
  • 00:17:15.023 --> 00:17:18.060
  • By now, frank had had enough.
  • 00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:20.829
  • He was done being a gangster, but not jesse.
  • 00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:24.500
  • He tried to form a new gang, but his posse eventually turned on
  • 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.669
  • And shot him in the back for a $10,000 reward.
  • 00:17:27.669 --> 00:17:31.106
  • His murderous crime spree was finally over.
  • 00:17:31.106 --> 00:17:32.941
  • But thanks to his diabolical media savvy ways, his legend
  • 00:17:32.941 --> 00:17:36.979
  • Continues to this day.
  • 00:17:36.979 --> 00:17:41.250
  • The period that we call the wild west really only lasted like 30
  • 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:45.687
  • Years, but it never seems that we'll be done telling and
  • 00:17:45.687 --> 00:17:49.358
  • Retelling these epic stories.
  • 00:17:49.358 --> 00:17:51.560
  • I mean, have you heard of belle starr?
  • 00:17:51.560 --> 00:17:54.863
  • (music playing)
  • 00:17:54.863 --> 00:18:00.002
  • Belle was born into a well-to-do family in missouri.
  • 00:18:00.002 --> 00:18:03.005
  • She was classically educated as well as a trained pianist.
  • 00:18:03.005 --> 00:18:07.009
  • So what in the world would motivate a sweet young girl like
  • 00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:10.846
  • Her to become a famous outlaw?
  • 00:18:10.846 --> 00:18:13.282
  • - boys, bad boys?
  • 00:18:13.749 --> 00:18:16.618
  • - belle starr was only a teenager when her family hid the
  • 00:18:16.618 --> 00:18:19.354
  • Ultimate bad boy, jesse james, in their home.
  • 00:18:19.354 --> 00:18:24.226
  • And apparently, belle was smitten with jesse.
  • 00:18:24.226 --> 00:18:27.229
  • In the coming years, belle would marry, not one, not two, but
  • 00:18:27.229 --> 00:18:31.700
  • Three outlaws.
  • 00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:32.834
  • - what?
  • 00:18:32.834 --> 00:18:34.303
  • Bad boys?
  • 00:18:34.303 --> 00:18:35.671
  • Lots and lots of bad boys.
  • 00:18:35.671 --> 00:18:41.343
  • - one of belle starr's husbands was named sam starr.
  • 00:18:41.343 --> 00:18:44.313
  • Sam was an outlaw and desperado known for cattle theft or cattle
  • 00:18:44.313 --> 00:18:48.750
  • Wrestling.
  • 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:50.085
  • Belle and sam formed a gang of bandits that terrorized texas in
  • 00:18:50.085 --> 00:18:54.156
  • Then indian territory, now known as oklahoma.
  • 00:18:54.156 --> 00:18:57.659
  • The gangster couples stole horses from wealthy ranchers and
  • 00:18:57.659 --> 00:19:01.163
  • Sold them to native american tribes.
  • 00:19:01.163 --> 00:19:03.966
  • Their criminal activities eventually caught up with them
  • 00:19:03.966 --> 00:19:06.935
  • When sam was killed in a shootout and belle was arrested
  • 00:19:06.935 --> 00:19:11.006
  • For her involvement in the gangs activities.
  • 00:19:11.006 --> 00:19:13.809
  • She was a bootlegger.
  • 00:19:13.809 --> 00:19:15.777
  • She harbored fugitives, and she even shot and killed the u.s.
  • 00:19:15.777 --> 00:19:17.813
  • Marshall.
  • 00:19:17.813 --> 00:19:18.914
  • Eventually, earning the name of bandit queen.
  • 00:19:18.914 --> 00:19:22.217
  • And i bet you know how her story ends.
  • 00:19:22.217 --> 00:19:24.152
  • Yeah.
  • 00:19:24.152 --> 00:19:25.420
  • Shot in the back.
  • 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:26.822
  • Although, we don't know exactly who did it.
  • 00:19:26.822 --> 00:19:29.291
  • Of course, the suspect list includes several ex-boyfriends.
  • 00:19:29.291 --> 00:19:32.728
  • Love hurts.
  • 00:19:32.728 --> 00:19:34.930
  • Now, i got to tell you about my absolute favorite, a guy named
  • 00:19:34.930 --> 00:19:39.534
  • Bass reeves.
  • 00:19:39.534 --> 00:19:42.170
  • This guy was pure gangster.
  • 00:19:42.838 --> 00:19:45.674
  • With a twist, he was actually the good guy.
  • 00:19:45.674 --> 00:19:49.845
  • Now, i saved this story for last, not only because it's the
  • 00:19:49.945 --> 00:19:51.680
  • Best, but because he also helped bring an end to the violent
  • 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.384
  • Criminal gangster that was run in the wild west.
  • 00:19:55.384 --> 00:19:58.820
  • Bass was born into slavery in the southern state of arkansas.
  • 00:19:58.820 --> 00:20:03.625
  • When his master's son george went to join the civil war, bass
  • 00:20:03.625 --> 00:20:07.362
  • Went with him.
  • 00:20:07.362 --> 00:20:08.730
  • He was probably helping george and the other confederates,
  • 00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:12.267
  • Which had to be awful.
  • 00:20:12.267 --> 00:20:14.569
  • Can you imagine aiding the side that was fighting to keep you
  • 00:20:14.569 --> 00:20:17.673
  • Enslaved?
  • 00:20:17.673 --> 00:20:19.408
  • Eventually, bass escaped into indian territory here in
  • 00:20:19.408 --> 00:20:23.578
  • Oklahoma.
  • 00:20:23.578 --> 00:20:25.080
  • Bass built relationships with the creek and seminole native
  • 00:20:25.080 --> 00:20:28.784
  • Tribes.
  • 00:20:28.784 --> 00:20:29.751
  • He even learned to speak their languages.
  • 00:20:29.751 --> 00:20:32.354
  • (speaking foreign language)
  • 00:20:32.354 --> 00:20:49.738
  • - fast forward a bit.
  • 00:20:50.305 --> 00:20:51.273
  • The good guys win the civil war.
  • 00:20:51.273 --> 00:20:52.541
  • Sorry, jesse james.
  • 00:20:52.541 --> 00:20:53.809
  • The 13th amendment passes, slavery is abolished, and bass
  • 00:20:53.809 --> 00:20:56.912
  • Is a free man, and so he does what every other free man wants
  • 00:20:56.912 --> 00:21:00.248
  • To do.
  • 00:21:00.248 --> 00:21:01.316
  • He gets married and has 11 children.
  • 00:21:01.316 --> 00:21:03.919
  • He also gets a killer job, literally.
  • 00:21:03.919 --> 00:21:08.256
  • A man named james fagan recruited bass to be a fellow
  • 00:21:08.256 --> 00:21:11.993
  • U.s.
  • 00:21:11.993 --> 00:21:12.694
  • Marshal.
  • 00:21:12.694 --> 00:21:13.595
  • Now, this was a huge job at the time.
  • 00:21:13.595 --> 00:21:15.263
  • These guys were bringing law and order to the wild west.
  • 00:21:15.263 --> 00:21:18.834
  • They were hunting down the bad guys and girls who were robbing
  • 00:21:18.834 --> 00:21:22.104
  • Banks and shooting sheriffs, and bass was the perfect candidate.
  • 00:21:22.104 --> 00:21:27.376
  • - you heard a dog the bounty hunter, but how about bass the
  • 00:21:27.376 --> 00:21:31.146
  • Bounty hunter?
  • 00:21:31.146 --> 00:21:32.047
  • (music playing)
  • 00:21:32.047 --> 00:21:37.119
  • - he was 6 ft 2, a great marksman.
  • 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:39.621
  • He knew the land and spoke several native languages.
  • 00:21:39.621 --> 00:21:42.958
  • When bass reeves took the job, he became the first black deputy
  • 00:21:42.958 --> 00:21:46.728
  • U.s. marshal west of the mississippi.
  • 00:21:46.728 --> 00:21:49.364
  • So bass returned to indian territory aka, present day,
  • 00:21:49.364 --> 00:21:53.535
  • Oklahoma, where he arrested more than 3,000 criminals.
  • 00:21:53.535 --> 00:21:57.539
  • I'm going to repeat that, in case you missed it.
  • 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:59.408
  • 3,000 criminals.
  • 00:21:59.408 --> 00:22:02.577
  • Bass was also a master of disguise, and he used this to
  • 00:22:02.577 --> 00:22:05.947
  • Catch the bad guys.
  • 00:22:05.947 --> 00:22:08.483
  • One time, he walked nearly 30 miles dressed as a beggar in
  • 00:22:08.483 --> 00:22:12.020
  • Order to trick two criminals into inviting him into their
  • 00:22:12.020 --> 00:22:15.624
  • Home.
  • 00:22:15.624 --> 00:22:16.758
  • - bass reeves, master of disguise - with his clever
  • 00:22:16.758 --> 00:22:23.398
  • Disguises, bass could blend in anywhere and catch people
  • 00:22:23.398 --> 00:22:27.002
  • Totally off guard, a master of disguise.
  • 00:22:27.002 --> 00:22:32.107
  • For 32 years, that's as long as the wild west was wild, bass
  • 00:22:32.107 --> 00:22:35.777
  • Worked as a federal peace officer.
  • 00:22:35.777 --> 00:22:38.547
  • And he never got shot or killed.
  • 00:22:38.547 --> 00:22:40.148
  • I mean, people shot at him, of course, but they only ever got
  • 00:22:40.148 --> 00:22:44.319
  • His hat and his belt.
  • 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:49.224
  • What was the secret to his success?
  • 00:22:50.091 --> 00:22:52.394
  • Well, i think it was his dedication.
  • 00:22:52.394 --> 00:22:54.296
  • Well, billy the kid and jesse james were dedicated to greed
  • 00:22:54.296 --> 00:22:58.400
  • And chaos.
  • 00:22:58.400 --> 00:22:59.734
  • Bass reeves was relentless, utterly dedicated to law and
  • 00:22:59.734 --> 00:23:04.306
  • Order.
  • 00:23:04.306 --> 00:23:05.607
  • Toward the end of his career, bass reeves was met with the
  • 00:23:05.607 --> 00:23:07.609
  • Greatest challenge of his life.
  • 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:09.377
  • A young woman was murdered, and the u.s.
  • 00:23:09.377 --> 00:23:12.047
  • Marshals were sent to go capture the killer.
  • 00:23:12.047 --> 00:23:14.950
  • When bass reeves heard the name of the killer, he knew that
  • 00:23:14.950 --> 00:23:17.752
  • There was no one else who could take the case.
  • 00:23:17.752 --> 00:23:20.956
  • The name of the killer, benjamin reeves.
  • 00:23:20.956 --> 00:23:24.226
  • That's right.
  • 00:23:24.226 --> 00:23:25.627
  • Bass reeves volunteered for the mission to capture his own son.
  • 00:23:25.627 --> 00:23:29.931
  • - the law is the law.
  • 00:23:30.499 --> 00:23:33.268
  • - bass reeves hunted down his son and brought him to justice.
  • 00:23:33.368 --> 00:23:36.404
  • And, oh, my gosh.
  • 00:23:36.404 --> 00:23:37.672
  • Why hasn't this been turned into a movie yet?
  • 00:23:37.672 --> 00:23:39.508
  • Oh, and you've heard of the lone ranger, right?
  • 00:23:39.508 --> 00:23:42.577
  • Well, fun fact, bass reeves was most likely the inspiration
  • 00:23:42.577 --> 00:23:46.548
  • Behind this legendary, albeit more boring character who lit up
  • 00:23:46.548 --> 00:23:50.852
  • The silver screen.
  • 00:23:50.852 --> 00:23:54.923
  • - hi, hal silver. away!
  • 00:23:55.557 --> 00:23:59.327
  • - really?
  • 00:23:59.661 --> 00:24:01.363
  • - speaking of the silver screen, the western was the most popular
  • 00:24:02.631 --> 00:24:05.934
  • Film genre in hollywood for decades.
  • 00:24:05.934 --> 00:24:09.004
  • In the 1950s, hollywood produced more westerns than any other
  • 00:24:09.004 --> 00:24:13.742
  • Film genre combined.
  • 00:24:13.742 --> 00:24:15.810
  • Ogs like john wayne and clint eastwood became global icons
  • 00:24:15.810 --> 00:24:20.515
  • That romanticized the mythology of the american west.
  • 00:24:20.515 --> 00:24:24.753
  • Values like grit, freedom, individualism, and
  • 00:24:24.753 --> 00:24:28.156
  • Exceptionalism.
  • 00:24:28.156 --> 00:24:29.391
  • Whether we like it or not, the wild west is part of our
  • 00:24:29.391 --> 00:24:32.694
  • National identity.
  • 00:24:32.694 --> 00:24:34.195
  • I mean, what's more american than bringing the bad guy to
  • 00:24:34.195 --> 00:24:36.598
  • Justice, winning the girl, and riding off into the sunset?
  • 00:24:36.598 --> 00:24:40.602
  • That's where i'll leave you with a quote from clint eastwood's
  • 00:24:40.602 --> 00:24:42.904
  • Classic western.
  • 00:24:42.904 --> 00:24:44.806
  • - in this world, there are two kinds of people, my friend,
  • 00:24:44.806 --> 00:24:47.976
  • Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.
  • 00:24:47.976 --> 00:24:51.613
  • You dig?
  • 00:24:51.913 --> 00:24:53.248
  • - oh, we dig, clint.
  • 00:24:53.348 --> 00:24:54.416
  • We dig.
  • 00:24:54.416 --> 00:24:55.884
  • We'll see you next time.
  • 00:24:55.884 --> 00:24:56.918
  • (music playing)
  • 00:24:56.918 --> 00:24:56.918