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Is John Henry a real person?
What is the story of John Henry?
Who wrote John Henry?
Was John Henry A tall tale?
An amazing story of the human spirit and work ethic, yes, but was John Henry a real person? Most historians agree that he was, as thousands of African-Americans worked on the railroad, with hundreds perishing during the drilling of the Great Bend Tunnel .
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.
In his nonfiction account Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend (Oxford University Press 2008), historian Scott Reynolds Nelson attempts to find the real man behind the legend, with a particular focus on Reconstruction-era Virginia and the use of prison labor for building railroads.
- 1840s or 1850s
- American folk hero
Mar 7, 2024 · The imaginative treatment by Roark Bradford in John Henry (1931) made the name known to many Americans. John Henry has been depicted in numerous works of art and has inspired film and television plots, but the story remains largely told in song, with versions recorded by folk, blues, and country artists.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 28, 2006 · 2-28-06. 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...
Dec 9, 2020 · According to History News Network, many historians agree he was a real man, but that the circumstances of his death may be fictitious, or conflated with that of another figure.
Oct 18, 2006 · Historians have long speculated that the John Henry ballads, which began circulating in the 1870’s, referred to a real railroad worker, but Mr. Nelson, with extensive documentation in hand,...