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John 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.
May 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 did the machine but died “with his hammer in his hand.”
Learn about the life and legacy of John Henry, a former prisoner who worked on the C&O Railroad and inspired a famous song. Historian Scott Nelson reveals how John Henry became a symbol of resistance and protest against machines and oppression.
John Henry was a legendary African American railroad worker who competed with a steam-powered drill and died of exhaustion. Learn about his possible identity, the tunnels he worked on, and his symbolism in American culture and civil rights.
Dec 9, 2020 · Learn about the origin, history, and significance of the folk song and story of John Henry, a Black railroad worker who died trying to out-drill a machine. Discover how this legend inspired many artists and became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
The origin of the John Henry legend can be traced back to the late 19th century, during the height of railroad construction in the United States. According to folklore, John Henry was a steel driver—a manual laborer tasked with hammering steel drills into rock to create holes for explosives.
Hundreds of men would lose their lives to Big Bend before it was over, their bodies piled into makeshift, sandy graves just steps outside the mountain. John Henry was one of them. As the story goes, John Henry was the strongest, fastest, most powerful man working on the rails.
