John Henry (folklore) - Wikipedia
WebJohn Henry is an American folk hero. An African American freedman, he is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into a rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel.
Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American …
WebFolklorists 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.
John Henry | Song, Background, & Facts | Britannica
WebMay 13, 2024 · 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 the machine did but died ‘with his hammer in his hand.’ Writers and artists see in John Henry a symbol of the worker’s foredoomed struggle against the machine.
John Henry - History of John Henry the 'the steel-driving man'.
WebJohn 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.
The Ballad of John Henry - YouTube
WebSep 28, 2013 · 3.2K. 875K views 10 years ago. This ballad tells the story of John Henry, an American folk hero. According to legend, he was the strongest and fastest railroad workers in his day during the...
The Legend Of John Henry Explained - Grunge
WebDec 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 | Encyclopedia.com
WebMay 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.
NPR : John Henry, Present at the Creation
WebSep 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...
e-WV | John Henry
WebNov 13, 2019 · John Henry. 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.
Taking Swings at a Myth, With John Henry the Man - The New York Times
WebOct. 18, 2006. In the American mythic pantheon, John Henry stands right at the top, alongside Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. Virtually every schoolchild knows the tale, transmitted through song,...
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