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John Henry

Origin: American Mythology

Heroic Values: Achievement, Courage, Perseverance, Selflessness

Background

When America was expanding to the West, they first used crews of men that would help erect and expand the railroads. This is where the legend of John Henry comes from.

John Henry wasn’t born big and strong, but grew up into the best and strongest steel driver ever. He was a very big man who valued hard work more than anything else. A steel driver is also known as the “hammer man”. They would spend their day driving holes into rock by hitting big steel spikes.

Soon, the owners of the railroad companies started replacing the crews of men with machines. John Henry didn’t want his crew to lose their jobs, so he challenged the owner of the company to a contest; him versus the steam-powered machine.

John Henry pushed himself to the limit and actually beat the steam-powered hammer. Unfortunately, since he pushed himself so hard, he died of a heart attack.

John Henry was an incredibly important symbol for the working class and continues to be mentioned throughout popular culture as a symbol for hard work and perseverance.

Submitted By: Steve Kessel

Sources

Wikipedia
The online encyclopedia

Paul Bunyan vs. John Henry
Anthropology essay

John Henry, the Steel Driving Man
Various resources