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Youthful Indiscretions Very few criminals merit having kind words spoken about them by presidents. In fact, most criminals inspire only harsh words from our nation’s leaders. Jesse James seemed to be an exception to that rule. According to President Harry S. Truman, “Jesse James was not actually a bad man at heart. I have studied his life carefully, and I come from his part of the country. Jesse James was a modern-day Robin Hood. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, which in general, is not a bad policy. I am convinced that Jesse would have been an asset to his community, if he had not been diverted into a lawless life”. The strange dichotomy demonstrated by James, that of hero and villain, virtually demands a close examination of his life to understand why he would want to become an outlaw. Comparing his early life to the life he led as an outlaw makes it possible to see why James would remain somewhat virtuous even as a villain and why he would become as skilled as he was. Perhaps James’s virtuosity stems from his upbringing. Jesse and his brother, Frank, were born to the minister Robert James and his wife Zerelda. Given that his father was a minister, it is not surprising that James