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When the dust settled, John Henry dug a 14-foot (4-meter) hole, but the machine made it only 9 feet (nearly 3 meters). As the rail workers celebrated, John Henry toppled over and died from exhaustion. An amazing story of the human spirit and work ethic, yes, but was John Henry a real person?
According to the ballad that made him famous, John Henry did battle with a steam-powered drill, beat the machine, and died. Folklorists have long thought John Henry to be mythical, but historian Scott Nelson has discovered that he was a real person—a nineteen-year-old from New Jersey who was convicted of theft in a Virginia court in 1866, sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary, and put ...
John Henry is a symbol of physical strength and endurance, of exploited labor, of the dignity of a human being against the degradations of the machine age, and of racial pride and solidarity. During World War II his image was used in U.S. government propaganda as a symbol of social tolerance and diversity. [14]
- 1840s or 1850s
- American folk hero
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Accordingly, the historic person is more likely to have been "John Henry Something" than "John W. Henry." Second, John W. Henry was 5' 1-1/4" tall. How many little guys were famous steel drivers?
- John Garst
Feb 28, 2006 · John Henry real? Truth or tall tale, the John Henry story has been told for more than a hundred years. Many historians believe it is based, in part, on a real person and event in the late 1800s ...
John Henry. Statue of John Henry, near Talcott, West Virginia. John Henry, hero of a widely sung African American folk ballad. It describes his contest with a steam drill, in which John Henry crushed more rock than did the machine but died “with his hammer in his hand.”. Writers and artists see in John Henry a symbol of the worker’s ...
Sep 14, 2023 · The Real John Henry. Historical research supports John Henry as a real person. He was one of thousands of African-American railroad workers. John Henry's job as a steel driver was also real. These men helped drill holes for the powder used for blasting tunnels. Steel drivers swung a nine pound hammer straight and strong all day everyday.
