Do the facts add up? John Henry was one. So who was John Henry? The finest work this artist has done, both words and pictures catch the very essence of John Henry's fierce pride, a man to shame mere machines. Work songs like the early John Henry ballads, often rhythmic chants with no melody, set the pace and synchronized the movements of hammer man and shaker. Then the shaker would begin rocking and rolling: wiggling and rotating the drill to optimize its bite. Any worker facing the new world of mechanized labor understood the John Henry story. At the end of the competition John had drilled 14 feet, and the salesman only drilled 9 feet. As the days rolled by, the workers were making great progress, until they came along a huge problem. Though highly accessible, Scott Reynolds Nelson’s Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry: The Untold Story of an American Legend adds speculation to the fold. The next morning when the workers were drilling through the rocks, the C&O Railroad decided that they couldn't go around the thick mountain. The manual labor process used to break through the mountain was also very time consuming, and tiring. Still today, some say John Henry's likeness is carved into the side of Big Bend tunnel. The rest of the book recounts the history of the John Henry ballads, and their hero’s transformation from man to myth. Therfore by challenging the machine to a race, it shows that he is willing to do anything possible to get to his dreams. Nelson's evidence for identifying John William Henry, Prisoner 497, as the source of the "John Henry" legend is inconclusive, though tantalizing. In the American mythic pantheon, John Henry stands right at the top, alongside Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. He spent most of his days working as a "steel driver" for the railroads, after the civil war reconstruction period. There are also some symbols along the story that symbolize obsticles, and the path John has to take to get his point across. There is some research that shows John Henry could have been a former emancipated slave born between the 1850's and 1860's. The workers would have to drill straight through the mountain. The African-American folk hero John Henry worked on a railroad construction crew in the 1870’s. He was known for his strength. This is also the point where it finally expresses the theme of the story clearly. The theme is the reality of making your personal dreams come true, and known. Mr. Nelson ransacked state archives and came up with the name of a prisoner: John William Henry. Creative Extension: Oral Tradition in Musical Games Contrary to the picture presented by the ballads, John Henry would have died not of exhaustion or a burst heart, but of silicosis, a fatal, fast-moving lung disease that took the lives of hundreds of railroad workers. Known from a "tall tale", dating back to the early 19th century. One day a cocky salesman came along with a fancy new invention called "The Steam Powered Drill", and claimed it could out drill any man. John Henry, An American Legend (Book) : Keats, Ezra Jack : Describes the life of the legendary steel-driving man who was born with and who died with a hammer in his hand Standing right smack in the middle of their path was a mountain known as Big Bend. First, of course, is the name. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The hammer man worked in partnership with a shaker, who would hold a chisel-like drill against mountain rock, while the hammer man struck a powerful blow with a sledgehammer. This was a very rigorous task for the workers ,because the challenge of breaking through those thick rocks was formidable. In the American mythic pantheon, John Henry stands right at the top, alongside Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. John Henry: An American Legend by Ezra Jack Keats tells the story of John Henry and the steam drill, as well as other tales of the folk hero. He was from New Jersey and, in some capacity, worked for the Union Army at City Point, a landing near Petersburg, Va., in 1866, when he was 18. John Henry. John Henry was first noted in folk-song scholarship in 1909, in the Journal of American Folklore, by Louise Rand Bascom 12. In addition, Henry worked on the team assigned to drill the Lewis Tunnel in West Virginia, where steam drills were put to the test against workers with hammers. In the story, all John wants is for everyone to live peaceuflly, and have equality. An African American man named John Henry was the hero of former slaves and the people who built the railroads. For coal miners he was a miner; for railroad workers he was a trackman; for Communist organizers he was “the hero of the greatest proletarian epic ever created.”. 3-5 O. Genre. John Henry: An American Legend (Knopf Children's Paperbacks) [Keats, Ezra Jack] on Amazon.com. Nov 4, 2014 - An amazing short film from Disney's American legends (2000) of John Henry from American folklore. From NPR's Present at the Creation - John Henry: Though the story of John Henry sounds like the quintessential tall tale, it is certainly based, at least in part, on historical circumstance. His death was not in vain, and is stands as a symbol of a great American victory. He is a subject of legend and song, who was most likely born in Alabama or West Virginia. Both books are illustrated with a graphic boldness that mixes color and texture, collage and painting, abstraction and realism. "Written at the crossroads where American myth and reality intersect, Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend is a tribute and requiem to the real steel drivin' men who built this country." Download file to see previous pages Recent interpretations include Disney’s short film John Henry and Julius Lester’s children’s book John Henry. Published three years after The Snowy Day, John Henry, an American Legend, is Ezra’s retelling of the saga of the steel-driving man. Many lives were lost, because of the rigorous hours, but John worked tirelessly and proved he was a man of his work. All open MCPL branches have resumed technology services including access public computers, copiers, fax, and printers. John Henry was born with a hammer in his hand. The workers would have to drill straight through the mountain. There is a phrase from the stroy that states ". A blood vessel had ruptured in Johns brain, causing instant death. He stood up to the machine—and the boss behind it—and vowed to die before surrendering his job. As time went on the men were cheering, and rooting for John. Mr. Nelson, an associate professor of history at the College of William and Mary, stumbled on his evidence while writing “Iron Confederacies,” a study of Southern railroads during Reconstruction. He was sent to the Virginia State Penitentiary, where the warden, desperate to raise revenue, had begun leasing prisoners to the railroad for 25 cents a day. So why would one man - one among a hundred years of other men and other stories - emerge as such a central figure in folklore and song? By 1874 he has disappeared from prison records, with no mention of pardon, parole or release, strongly suggesting that he died while working on the railroads and not inside the prison, where his death would have been recorded. This is also known as the "American Dream". In the early 1870’s, he found, large numbers of convicts from the Virginia State Penitentiary died while working on the C&O Railway. Mr. Nelson tells this part of the story mechanically, and often repetitively, with annoying first-person digressions. In “Steel Drivin’ Man,” Scott Reynolds Nelson argues that the John Henry story was no tall tale, and Henry himself no myth. There are disputes as to where the legend originates. His name was John Henry, and as he got older his kindness, and hard work showed that he was the strongest man working the rails. John Henry won, the legend says, driving 14 feet to the drill's nine. Maybe. What Mr. Nelson proves is the undying power of the John Henry myth, which reduces almost to a pinpoint the historical figure he resurrects from the archives. SUMMARY: An animated story which explores the life of the legendary John Henry, a Black man who pitted his strength against the steam drill. He explains in detail what tunnel drilling involved, both for manual workers with hammer and chisel and for the new steam drills that promised a cheaper, quicker way to bore the holes that workers filled with blasting material. 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 drill--is a towering figure in our culture. About John Henry: An American Legend 50th Anniversary Edition. The machines were highly efficient, however, at generating clouds of silicon dust. (5 Mar. Taking Swings at a Myth, With John Henry the Man. 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, proposes a candidate. "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. His name was John Henry, and as he got older his kindness, and hard work showed that he was the strongest man working the rails. John Henry presents a dynamic political, religious, and cultural visuals and music. Virtually every schoolchild knows the tale, transmitted through song, story or animated cartoon, about the doomed railroad worker who bests a mechanical drill only to die at the moment of victory. As Mr. Nelson tells it, the contest between worker and machine was less than equal. Recalling a version of the John Henry ballad with the lines, “They took John Henry to the white house, and buried him in the san’,” he made a connection: the main building of the penitentiary was white. But where Peter’s tale is gentle, John Henry’s is rugged and larger-than-life. John Henry refused to accept this decision. In her rather unsympathetic report, she was nonetheless pleased to have collected this fragment in the mountains of western North Carolina: Johnie Henry was a hard-workin' man, He died with his hammer in his hand. According to legend, Henry won a contest against a steam-powered drill but died when his heart gave out after the race. Mr. Nelson’s railroad expertise serves him well. After helping his family, and realizing he can help them no more, he sets out to find a job. Many lives were lost, because of the rigorous hours, but John worked tirelessly and proved he was a man of his work. His John Henry is a former Union soldier, imprisoned for theft while on a work assignment in Richmond, Va., and leased out with other inmates to blast tunnels through the Allegheny Mountains for the new Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. A smoothly coordinated human team had an advantage over the early drills, which constantly broke down. John Henry, an American Legend is a 1965 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats In this book, it shows that John Henry, a hard working miner tries to beat the steam drill. An American folk hero, John Henry represents the working man who takes pride in his skill and individuality. Virtually every schoolchild knows the tale, transmitted through song, story or … When the race started John pulled out two 20 pound hammers, and started drilling away. When men started talking about laying railroad tracks across the prairies and deserts, and right through the mountains, John Henry knew he and his hammer had to be a part of it. He would spend most of his day drilling holes into rocks, and  although many tried, no one could compete with John. But it was too late. Accomplishing a great victory John held up his hammers with a proud face and all the workers roared with excitement. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. John Henry: An American Legend (Knopf Children's Paperbacks) A central thesis of Nelson’s is that the musical tradition of John Henry has its origins in a real man. The origin of these versatile images begins from a ballad… But for over a century, no one knew who the original John Henry was--or even if there was a real John Henry. For example, the Big Bend Tunnel is a major factor that plays an important role in the story. Mr. Nelson even argues, rather unconvincingly, that John Henry’s powerful physique served as the model for comic-book superheroes like Captain America. But the real story, and the real John Henry, come to life after his death. But they were also proud of him for saving their jobs. The Story of John Henry (Audiobook CD) : Kessler, Brad. --Bruce Springsteen It is the main obstruction in the way of the railroads pathway. John Henry is an American folk hero. White Southern millworkers, listening to country recordings of the ballads that never mentioned Henry’s race, assumed he was a white man whose plight resembled their own. Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Caldecott Medalist Ezra Jack Keats’s vibrant retelling of the popular African American folk ballad in this beautiful hardcover edition. Some place John Henry in West Virginia, while recent research suggests Alabama. From a strongman communist figure by Hugo Gilbert to a superhero cartoon character recreated by Jack Kirby, the legends of John Henry have been transformed its images by the American popular culture. Have you heard the tale? The John Henry of legend is more myth than man; a tragic, larger than life hero involved in an epic battle between man and machine, which was immortalized in a popular folk song the "Ballad of John Henry". How John Henry, a small man even for the time, became the muscled superman of legend remains mysterious. Unlike most tall tales, John Henry was said to be the most likely to have been a real man, and many people are lead to believe that his famous race against the machine really did happen. Grades. His story is immortalized … Exhausted and out of breath, John came tumbling to the ground. 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.” The legendary figure is captured in this striking picture book. The crowd went silent as a foreman hurried to his side, to comfort him. The Legend of John Henry • Level M 15 16 The other workers were sad to lose John Henry. as indeed a mighty man", as it states in the story. One of the greatest legends of world folklore was born from these workers and their enormous task; John Henry "The Steel Driving Man". An African American, he is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. It was a song about John Henry, the steel-driving man. At the time it was said that John Henry was working for the C&O Railroad, which was a wealthy company from the Chesapeake Bay to the, Throughout the Story of John Henry, it talks about the struggles of working on the railroads and gives us a sense of how the freed slaves were actually treated after the emancipation proclamation. By Ezra Jack Keats. John Henry, an American Legend. John grew up quick to become very tall and strong. He was said to be a very hard worker, who grew up to six feet tall and weighing over 200 lbs. In the end John Henry won the competition, but he also broke inside. Nearby, in 1992, workers demolishing the prison had dug up about 300 skeletons. Whether or not John William Henry is the man seems almost irrelevant. Standing right smack in the middle of their path was a mountain known as Big Bend. His name was John Henry, and as he got older his kindness, and hard work showed that he was the strongest man working the rails. John was no ordinary baby though, as he was born with a hammer in his hand. Unlike a lot of the tall tales from America's formative years, the story of John Henry is … He died shortly after, some say from exhaustion, some say from a stroke. The next morning when the workers were drilling through the rocks, the C&O Railroad decided that they couldn't go around the thick mountain.
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