Mr. Sas'

Part I:

John Dillinger: The Depression-Era's

'Robin Hood'

A 

Read the story of John Dillinger from the "Famous Cases" section of the FBI's website and answer the following questions: 

1. What specific crime allowed the FBI assume responsibility for catching John Dillinger?

2. Why did Anna Sage help set Dillinger up?

What happened to her afterwards?

3. What role do you think the public played in helping Dillinger escape and hide so many times?

How many people were convicted for helping Dillinger?

Crown Pointe, Indiana, shortly before his most famous escape. 

B 

Follow the link to the PBS website, Public Enemy No. 1, and answer the following questions about John Dillinger:

1. In looking at the timeline, what did Dillinger request from his jailers after his beloved wife divorced him in 1929?

How do you the divorce affected Dillinger's life afterward?

2. How did the bandits of this era contribute to the growth of the FBI's power and jurisdiction?

How much time went by in between the time that these new laws were enacted and the time when Dillinger was finally stopped?

3. How did John Dillinger treat his friends and lovers? How did he treat the general public?

How do you think his attitude towards others set Dillinger apart from other criminals?

4. Look at the map that plots out Dillinger's crime spree during his lat year alive.

What role do you think the physical geography of the Midwest played in making it easy for Dillinger and his gang to escape so many times?

Why do you think Dillinger stayed in this region of the country for most of his criminal career?

5. Do you think that Dillinger was "born to be bad", or do you think he, "learned a life of crime"? Take the PBS on-line poll to see how your answers compare with others. 

Part II:

Bonnie and Clyde

B

Go to the website dedicated to Henry Methvin, the last member of the Barrow Gang, and answer the following questions:

1. What role did Henry Methvin play in the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde?

According to officer Ted Hinton, how was the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde set up using Methvin's father?

2. Judging by the location of the bullet holes in the Ford V8 Bonnie and Clyde were killed in, do you think that there was any attempt made by the lawmen to stop the car without the use of deadly force?

Read the article from the Dallas Dispatch. What chance did the officers give Bonnie and Clyde to give up?

Do you think it was wrong for the officers to entrap Bonnie and Clyde without trying to capture them alive?

3. How was Methvin rewarded for giving up information on the locations of Bonnie and Clyde?

What happened to Methvin before he could enjoy his reward?

 A display of the arsenal found in Bonnie and Clyde's car after they were taken down in Louisiana

Public Enemies...

Myth or Reality?

 The Ford automobile revolutionized banditry in the early twentieth century. One of the interesting controversies regarding both, Dillinger, and Clyde Barrow, revolve around the validity of letters sent to the Ford Motor Company by both, praising the V-8.

How did the Ford Motor Company benefit from the publication of these letters? What does this say about the national fame of these outlaws?