Aired: 2/25/2014
As the American frontier marched westward there were few courageous souls willing to put their lives on the line to bring law to the lawless.
The upheavals of the Civil War had an aftershock that lasted decades. The James boys and the Youngers are a few of the men who longed and learned from the lawlessness of war.
Were the Earps really the unblemished heroes of dime novels and old movies, or were they thugs who happened to wear badges? Discover this and more in part three of our journey through The Lawmen Of The Old West.
They came from all over the West. These were the outlaws seeking haven down by the border. They rustled stock they mingled with women and they robbed, killed and pillaged with the boldness of medieval raiders.
As outlaws refined their trade, so too did the lawmen. Federal or state, town or county, public or pr ivate, these men all fought to enforce law and order upon an unruly and violent land.
As the western territories evolved and became states, the Wild West was slowly tamed. However, there were still many challenges for the great Lawmen of the Old West including one of the most celebrated outlaws in all of history, Billy the Kid.