This PowerPoint presentation uses many sources to discover what Billy the Kid did, what his intentions were, and how these actions caused uproar in New Mexico

1. Exploring the Effects
of Billy the Kid
Photo by Ben Wittick (1845–1903) / Public domain
Miranda Griego
HIST 260-501
Professor Taylor
Spring 2018

2. THESIS
How did Billy the
Kid impact
southern
New Mexico?
What were his
views on justice?
Billy the Kid is widely known among all of New Mexico.
However, in his time, he was specifically known among Southern
New Mexico. His way of living without fear of killing was
unheard of, especially for someone of his age. He caused an
uproar as he became the most wanted outlaw of his time. Even till
today, his legacy lives on as researchers and historians continue to
work out what exactly Billy’s intentions and actions were, and just
how many people he really did kill as each article and post shares
it was anywhere between 9 and 27 people.
Billy the Kid viewed justice as being two sided. As he was
caught in between a war at a young age, he was forced to choose a
side. Once he did, he was committed. When evil acts were made
from the other side, he was not slow to fight for revenge. When
his mentor or father figure John Tunstall was killed, he took it
upon himself to make “justice” of the situation. However, once
he became akin to killing, it seemed as more of a hobby, as he
showed little remorse for his actions.

3. Wanted!
• Author: Brad Smithfield
• Link: http://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/01/23/billy-the-kid-was-trilingual/
• Summary
• This interesting post explains findings that believe Billy may have been able to speak
three languages. Furthermore, this post explains just how mad people became over
finding Billy. Being the Wild Wests most wanted, there was a $500 bounty for his
finding.
• Evaluation
• This webpage is credible as it has been recently written this last January by Brad
Smithfield. Throughout the article, Smithfield credits historians and writers for the
information he shares..

4. Murder or Duty?
• Author: Robert C. Jones
• Link: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/billy-kid-country.html
• Summary: This article takes on a different approach, by stating that what Billy did should
not be viewed as murder. The reason behind his saying this was because amidst the Lincoln
County War, it was difficult for people to separate personal desires and acts of justice.
“…Billy was acting as a "special constable” or deputy sheriff at the time of the killings.
Thus, while his methods may have been extreme, he had some patina of officiality when he
killed the members of the errant posse.” Jones went on to say that both sides of this war
ended in casualties, inferring that we should not put all of the blame on Billy the Kid.
Read more: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/billy-kid-
country.html#ixzz5FA8M9ceU
• Evaluation
• This source credits the author of the article. At the end of the article, more articles
regarding Billy the Kid and other related topics are available for further research. This
website has been running since 1996 and continues to remain updated. The about page also
shares plenty of information about copyright and publishing information

5. Is Anything Really Certain?
• Author: Michael E. Miller
• Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/21/one-mans-quest-to-
bury-the-wild-west-mystery-of-billy-the-kids-death/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7c07da723cc4
• Summary
• In this article, Miller proves that the confusion and speculation over Billy the Kid did not end
after his death. He wrote, “On Friday, historian Robert Stahl announced he was filing a lawsuit
with the New Mexico supreme court demanding that the state end speculation over Billy the Kid’s
death by issuing an official death certificate for the outlaw.’’ As this article was written in July of
2015, this goes to show that even in the 21st century, people are still working away, trying to piece
together aspects of this outlaws life as to this day, not everything is certain.
• Evaluation
• The Washington Post is a very known and credible website which contains articles on many
topics. Immediately upon viewing the article, the author is listed along with a link to email the
author. The post was written in 2015. The images in this article include summaries along with
credits to sources.

6. Attacking or Defending?
• Author: John P. Wilson
• Link: http://newmexicohistory.org/people/escape-of-the-kid-reconsidered
• Summary
• This article shares many resources that help us understand. Rather than share his own
opinions, Wilson introduces many articles than have been found from the era of Billy
the Kid. One account even offers quotes from Billy after killing a man named Bob
Olinger. He destroyed Olinger’s gun and throwing it at him said “here, G--d d--n you!
Take them! I guess you won’t put them on me again.” This quote is evidence that, in
this instance, Billy may have actually been simply defending himself.
• Evaluation
• The author of this post references not one, but six different sources. Some of these
sources consisted of books, articles, an entry from The Daily New Mexican from May of
1881, and more. These sources make for a very credible post as we can read of the
views of first hand people who were living in the time period of Billy the Kid.

7. “Cold-Blooded Killer
• Author: Nick Vulich
• Link: http://www.history-blogger.com/2016/09/killing-billy-kid.html
• Summary
• The writer of this blog post quickly sides against Billy. He begins by calling Billy a “squirt” and goes on to say
that it is impossible for his killings to be innocent or heroic. He reasons by saying that the number of people
he single handedly killed was more than any one person should be responsible for. He said that despite other
people’s views of him as being a hero, he views him as a “cold-blooded killer.” He also stated that Billy
seemingly felt no remorse for his deeds as he was always able to fit in joking and laughter.
• Evaluation
• This post immediately sites its author as Nick Vulich. Vulich assures to cite sources, especially for the images
he shared in his post. The webpage is copyrighted in 2016. More evidence of Vulich’s work is shared at the
bottom of the post as he shares a link to his new book.

8. Killing Without Remorse
• Author: Erin Allen
• Link: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2015/04/young-gun/
• Summary
• Allen’s post deepens the belief that Billy was no good. Allen shares a quote from Billy’s killer Sherriff
Pat Garrett which states, ‘The Kid’ had a lurking devil in him; it was a good-humored, jovial imp, or a
cruel and blood-thirsty fiend…” This post supports the following post which shared how Billy was
always laughing.
• Evaluation
• This blog post was recently written in 2015. Every photo is cited for source. This blog site is in union with the
Library of Congress which works to continue the publics knowledge of our nations history.

9. A New Sheriff in Town
• Author: Eyewitness to History
• Link: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/billythekid.htm
• Summary
• This article briefly summarizes Billy the Kid’s participation in the rivalry camps upon his
moving to New Mexico. As Billy resided under the care of John Tunstall during this time, it
came as a great pain to know he had been murdered. Instead of mourning, he took to get
revenge. During this time of anger, he himself murdered many people who crossed his path.
Newly elected Sherriff Pat Garrett took it upon himself to put an end to these violent
deaths.
• Evaluation
• One positive of this website is the fact that it references a source that was used in the writing
of the article. At the bottom of the article, it also credits the copyright. The negative aspect
is that it does not share who was the author of the article. The site was updated in 2015.
Being that this piece of history occurred so many years ago, it is probably safe to say that the
information is still valid. However, the best webpages make sure to frequently update their
websites.

10. Billy the Kid: Still a Relevant Name
• Author: Kevin Conlon
• Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/30/billy.the.kid.museum/index.html
• Summary
• Avoiding taking sides, Conlon focuses on the fact the Billy the Kid is still a relevant name, even today.
He says that regardless of which side one may take, Billy “is and enduring figure in American lore.” He
wrote that even one of our most recent governors, Gov. Bill Richardson, spent some of his last
moments in office deciding if he should finally write a pardon for Billy the Kid as this had not
happened. Even in the 2000’s Billy the Kids actions are still being worked out.
• Evaluation
• Kevin Conlon works for CNN, a widely known source for news in America. This site is continually
updated as it’s last update was this year. CNN is staffed 24 hours, 7 days a week.