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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 to work building the C&O Railroad.
Dec 9, 2020 · According to the historian Carlene Hempel , John Henry, the best and fastest of the thousand workers on the C&O Railway, took up two hammers in an attempt to prove the enduring value of the human labor of himself and his fellow steel drivers. In a steel-driving race against the machine, it is said that Henry managed to drill 14 feet into the ...
John Henry - Learn about the amazing feats and history of John Henry the 'the steel-driving man' Famous for his speed and strength when digging into Rock by hand. Dicover John Henryism, and his Role in American Civil Rights Movement. John Henry Images, Facts, Books and Film.
Sep 2, 2002 · Above all, "John Henry" is the single most well known and often recorded American folk song. For NPR's ongoing series Present at the Creation, musician and researcher Stephen Wade explores...
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May 9, 2018 · Myths and Legends of the World. John Henry John Henry, a mighty laborer who outperformed a mechanical drill, is a character who first appeared in African American songs and ballads. He can be seen as a symbol of black strength and of African Americans [1]' refusal to be crushed.
Nov 13, 2019 · John Henry was a legendary steel driving man, whose life is the basis for one of the world’s best-known folk tales. His fame rests on a single epic moment when he raced the steam drill during the building of a West Virginia railroad tunnel.
No matter who he was or where he came from, John Henry continues to endure as an American folk hero and champion of the rail workers in the late 1800s. The ballad and folktale of John Henry, the tireless railroad worker, is the stuff of American legend. But was John Henry a real person? Find out.
