John Henry was a real African American worker who helped build railroads through the mountains of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in the 1870s. Before construction machinery, railroads used men armed with picks, hammers, and dynamite to cut away mountainsides to level the earth for train tracks. If the mountains were too big to cut away, work crews tunneled through them.
John Henry, a mighty laborer who outperformed a mechanical drill. He can be seen as a symbol of black strength and of African Americans' refusal to be pushed over. In more general terms, John Henry represents the human will power and spirit, which a machine may defeat but can never have.
Some character traits that John Henry had were strength and endurance. He was
John Henry, a mighty laborer who outperformed a mechanical drill. He can be seen as a symbol of black strength and of African Americans' refusal to be pushed over. In more general terms, John Henry represents the human will power and spirit, which a machine may defeat but can never have.
Some character traits that John Henry had were strength and endurance. He was