A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. John henry went to work as a steeldriver for the chesapeake and ohio railroad, or cando. This book starts with a story the authors academic hunt for the real john henry. John henry married another steeldriver, a woman named polly ann. He used a 14pound hammer to drill, some historians believe, 10 to 20 feet in a 12hour day the. From that day on, they sang a new song as they worked. The john henry ballads probably originated as work songs for steeldrivers and other rail workers in the 1870s, and became more generalized as chain gang, worker, and prison songs. Steel drivin man john henry, the untold story of an american legend scott reynolds nelson john henry is the most recorded folk song in american history there are hundreds of version of the john henry ballad, it is routinely taught to american schoolchildren the song is enormously popular.
Using census data, penitentiary reports, and railroad company reports, nelson reveals how john henry, victimized by virginias notorious black codes, was shipped to the infamous richmond penitentiary to. For example, john henry is said to have weighed 44 pounds at birth and to have gone looking for work after his first meal. You are nothing but a common man, before that steam drill shall beat me down. A man of immense strength and gifts, he was freed from slavery after the war and became a legendary railroad worker. Jan 01, 2006 this book starts with a story the authors academic hunt for the real john henry. John henry,the untold story of an american april 16, 2010 by yerang2000 john henry presents a dynamic political, religious, and cultural visuals and music. There, at the lewis tunnel, henry and other prisoners worked alongside steampowered drills. Dec 26, 2016 mix the legend of the steel driving man youtube. Glossary civil war the war between the northern and southern states of the united states of. Pinning down the second, the legend, is not so easy.
John henry became a steel drivin man, someone who swung a heavy hammer at a steel drill, driving it into rock to make railway tunnels through hills and mountains. The legend of john henry at the big bend tunnel appears to have some basis in historical fact. As the company would have coerced him to retain his services, john faked his death, and eventually came to metropolis. He was born a slave in the 1840s but was freed after the war. The historical record is sketchy, but most of the verifiable facts about mr. American legends and folktales celebrates the wisdom and. The rest of the book recounts the history of the john henry ballads, and. There is some evidence that john henry was a historical man, probably an emancipated slave born in either north carolina or virginia in the decade of the 1840s or 1850s. Mar 18, 2017 julius lesters john henry is based on the african american folk ballad john henry, the tale of john henry, the steel driving man who was bigger and stronger than anyone and the competition between him and the steampowered drill in digging a railroad tunnel through a mountain. The legend of john henry has been celebrated in song and story for generations, but my favorite version is the childrens picture book john henry by julius lester, with illustrations by jerry pinkney.
John henry, the untold story of an american legend ebook written by scott reynolds nelson. The ultimate battle of man versus machine, john henry represented the hearts of the working men who struggled to keep their jobs on the railroad as machines began moving in to do their work. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. John henry died trying to defeat an invention that actually brought deliverance from the inhuman conditions of all steeldriving men, including him. This early version was called john henry, steel driving man and contained 12 stanzas. Provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises john henry, the steel driving man the stanley brothers shadows of the past. As the story goes, john henry was the strongest, fastest, most powerful man working on the rails. John henry, the steeldriving man, is a story about a guy who tried to singlehandedly outhammer a machine, won the hammering race, then dropped dead at the end of it. In it, we meet john william henry, a black man from new jersey who found work for the union army just after the civil war at city. Julius lesters john henry is based on the african american folk ballad john henry, the tale of john henry, the steeldriving man who was bigger and stronger than anyone and the competition.
He used a 14pound hammer to drill, some historians believe, 10 to 20 feet in a 12hour day the best of any man on the rails. John henry, the steeldriving man, is a story about a. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The chesapeake and ohio railroad drove the big bend tunnel through west virginia s allegheny mountains in the early 1870s, and legend places john henry there. John henry the steel driving man by andrey zolotukhin 2001. Nov 20, 20 as the story goes, john henry was the strongest, fastest, most powerful man working on the rails. The virginia story accounts for this stanza by making questionable assumptions, that john w. Please join our john henry yahoo discussion group read dr.
He is said to have worked as a steeldriving mana man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. John henry was the greatest of hammerers, as well as the best of gamblers, the biggest of drinkers, nastiest of ghters, and the best of lovers. Henry, or john william henry in previously unexplored prison records of the virginia penitentiary. Many americans are familiar with the story of john henry. Its nelsons story of piecing together the biography of the real john. Taking swings at a myth, with john henry the man the new york. John henry was the greatest of hammerers, as well as the best of gamblers, the biggest of drinkers, nastiest of ghters, and the best of. But they were also proud of him for saving their jobs. On the trail of the real john henry history news network. And john henry was the strongest, the most powerful man working the rails. In his book, nelson pieces together the biography of the real john henry. John henry, steel driver extraordinare, surely one of our most popular legendary heroes. Thisconsistedofdriving a metal spike into the rock with a hammer. John henry, the untold story of an american legend scott reynolds.
He appeared in workers songs that seem to date from the 1880s or so. Defining the first is a matter of assembling facts. Steel drivin man scott reynolds nelson oxford university. In steel drivin man, scott reynolds nelson tells the true story of the african american convict from virginia who inspired the american legend, the ballad of john henry. While the story of lost in the fog is told by way of his nutty yet likable owner, harry aleo, the story of john henry is told by. When john henry was a little fellow,you could hold him in the palm of your hand,he said to his pa, when i grow upim gonna be a steel driving man. It is also the story of work songs, songs that not only turned henry into a folk hero but also. There were plays about john henry, childrens books about john henry i remember one of those, and comic book heroes like superman who evolved in nelsons analysis from the john henry strongman character as depicted by artists of the early twentieth century.
There are two john henrys, the actual man and the legend surrounding him. John henry, the untold story of an american legend nelson. John henry became a steeldrivin man, someone who swung a heavy hammer at a steel drill, driving it into rock to make railway tunnels through hills and mountains. The reader gets a slice of life look at trackliners, how they used song in their work, and the initial dirgelike, cautionary tone of john henry a tale. John henry married another steel driver, a woman named polly ann.
John henry, the untold story of an american legend kindle edition by nelson, scott reynolds. John henry worked harder than the steam drill until he got sick and his woman polly ann took over. John henry, he would spend his days drilling holes by hitting thick steel spikes. Nov 07, 2014 provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises john henry, the steel driving man the stanley brothers shadows of the past.
The storys epilogue tells how, after years spent fighting for his fellow slaves freedom and traveling the expanding united states, this john henry goes on to become the steel drivin man of american folklore. The book s narrative gives great detail to that era in richmond that john henry lived, as well as the white house by the tracks federal penitentiary where so many of these freedmen and women were wrongfully incarcerated and as it winds past john henry the individual, it reveals the highly pertinent correlation with those railroad songs. John henry west virginia division of culture and history. An african american man named john henry was the hero of former slaves and the. Equally important was the use of john henry s image and story by the labor movement.
Nelsons john henry make him plausible as the real steeldriving man. Tunnels had to be blasted through the rock using manual labor. His story is linked to the spread of railroads across the united states as the industrial age got into full swing in the years after the american civil war 18611865. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading steel drivin man. Written at the crossroads where american myth and reality intersect, steel drivin man. John henry, the steeldriving man, is a story about a guy. One of the most colorful characters in american folklore is the legendary john henry.
Created with casts udl book builder many americans are familiar with the story of john henry. The new john henry documentary will chronicle the life and legacy of this remarkable animal, and will include interviews with fans, celebrities, dignitaries and other notables that knew him or won big money from his successes. When john henry was 3 days old he picked up a hammer and made a prediction. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read steel drivin man. The most convincing evidence of john henrys existence was provided relatively recently by historian scott reynolds nelson in his 2006 book steeldrivin man. Henry was taken to the penitentiary at virginia and interred at a group grave next to a whitish workhouse situated near a railway. In his 2006 book steel drivin man, scott nelson utilizes john william henry, who might have worked in virginias lewis tunnel and died therein. Folklorists have long thought john henry to be mythical, but historian scott nelson has discovered that he was a real persona nineteenyearold from new jersey who was convicted of theft in a virginia court in 1866, sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary, and put. Henry was a steel driver no evidence, that he was a noted steel driver no evidence and unlikely.
Similar to the 2008 lost in the fog documentary, john henry portrays a talented rags to riches story, but with a much happier ending. Now john henry was a steeldrivin man do you guys know what that means that means that he was a dude who worked on a railroad and his job was to kill mountains now the way he did this was some poor sonofabitch named little bill would hold a steel drill in place against the rock while john henry beat this shit out of it with a twenty pound hammer. The workers made good progress on the project until they started working near big bend mountain in west virginia. John henry, the untold story of an american legend by scott reynolds nelson. But still, at the core of the john henry legend rests a real man. He died shortly after, some say from exhaustion, some say from a stroke.
John henry went to work as a steel driver for the chesapeake and ohio railroad, or cando. John henry, the untold story of an american legend is a tribute and requiem to the real steel drivin men who built this country. There have been many, many versions of the story and life of this enduring figure. When john henry was a little fellow,you could hold him in the palm of your hand,he said to his pa, when i grow upim gonna be a steeldriving man. Johnson obtained lyrics to the song that he estimated were written down in 1900.
Henry was taken to the penitentiary at virginia and interred at a group grave. The ballad john henry is the most recorded folk song in american history and john henrythe mighty railroad man who could blast through rock faster than a steam. Oct 18, 2006 the historical record is sketchy, but most of the verifiable facts about mr. Satellite tv learning english word book our policy about comments. The company asked him to lead workers on a project to extend the railroad into the allegheny mountains.
Scott reynolds nelson argues that the john henry story was no tall tale, and. Doctor john henry irons was a brilliant weapons engineer for amertek industries, who eventually became disgusted when the bg60, a powerful manportable energy cannon he had designed, fell into the wrong hands and was used to kill innocent people. In steel drivin man, scott reynolds nelson recounts the true story of the man behind the iconic american hero, telling the poignant tale of a young virginia convict who died working on one of the most dangerous enterprises of the time, the first rail route through the appalachian mountains. The story of john henry is told in a classic folk song, which exists in many. He apparently grew to great size, perhaps over six feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds, matched by big appetites for food and hard work.
Sep 28, 2006 the ballad john henry is the most recorded folk song in american history and john henry the mighty railroad man who could blast through rock faster than a steam drillis a towering figure in our culture. John henry, the untold story of an american legend, historian scott reynolds nelson detailed his discovering documentation of a 19yearold africanamerican man alternately referred to as john henry, john w. The story of john henry is told in a classic folk song, which exists in many versions, and has been the subject of. Anonymous, the ballad of john henry the ballad and folktale of john henry, the tireless railroad worker, is the stuff of american legend. John henry, the untold story of an american legend. The steel driving racehorse, it seems as though a genre might be emerging.
He was born a slave, worked as a laborer for the railroads after the civil war, and died in his 30s, leaving behind a young pretty wife and a baby. John henry was a steeldrivin man eecs at uc berkeley. His job was hitting steel spikes into rocks, and he was the fastest and strongest worker on the line. According to the ballad that made him famous, john henry did battle with a steampowered drill, beat the machine, and died. John henry biography at black history now black heritage. The legend of john henry level m 15 16 the other workers were sad to lose john henry. Garst provides his perspective on ideas presented in dr. Whether he was a true historical figure or a fictitious hero carved into the minds of common americans by oral tradition, his story has given inspiration to generations. In the case of john henry, a steel driving man, he is memorialized for. When john henry was a little baby,setting on his mammys knee,he said the big bend tunnel on the c.
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