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Bonnie and Clyde’s crime wave: social banditry, social change, and political geography

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You’ve read the story of Jesse James-.

Of how he lived and died;.

If you’re still in need of something to read.

Here’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

-Bonnie Parker-.

(Knight & Davis, 2003: 159).

Abstract

This article discusses Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s 1932 to 1934 crime wave, using Hobsbawm’s concept of social banditry. The article examines whether their crime exemplified social banditry or, alternatively, was a manifestation of social change interacting with American political geography. Their crime wave displayed aspects of social banditry. They provided concentrated benefits to some, relied upon the populace for support, displayed style separating them from the crowd, and provided dispersed benefits to many who viewed them as a reaction to the capitalist system causing the Great Depression. However, they also demonstrated social change. They were deracinated members of the rural poor exploiting jurisdictional boundaries created by a criminal justice system administered by state governments in a nascent era of interstate travel facilitated by changing automotive technology and improved roads. Along with other criminals of the 1930’s, Public Enemy Era, their crime wave contributed to a substantial increase in federal jurisdiction over criminal law and in federal law enforcement powers.

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Fig. 1

Photo credit: Taronda Schultz collection, used with permission

Fig. 2

Photo credit: Taronda Schultz collection, used with permission

Fig. 3

Source: Prepared by the AUTHOR

Fig. 4

Source: Prepared by the author

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Notes

  1. In 2008, the FBI’s Bonnie and Clyde archives were found in Dallas, Texas, scanned, and put on the FBI website (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2023). Documents from the FBI archives dated 24 May 1933 to 3 August 1933 are attributed to the United States Bureau of Investigation while documents dated 29 August 1933 to 26 May 1934 are attributed to the Division of Investigation of the United States Department of Justice.

  2. The interviews were of people highly knowledgeable about Bonnie and Clyde and were semi-structured, asking preconceived questions, while allowing pursuit of unanticipated lines of discussion. Institutional ethics approval was obtained from the author’s academic institution. All interviews were conducted after obtaining participants’, free, prior, and informed consent. One interview was conducted anonymously, with the participant consenting orally, while the remaining eight participants provided written consent.

  3. This would be approximately 54 billion dollars in 2023 prices.

  4. 267 US 438 [1925].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    William N Holden

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  1. William N Holden
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Correspondence to William N Holden.

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Holden, W.N. Bonnie and Clyde’s crime wave: social banditry, social change, and political geography. GeoJournal 88, 5411–5426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10924-4

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