The Legend of John Henry: Folklore and the Lives of African Americans in the Postwar South - U.S.

Central Question
Learning Objective
Historical Background 
Primary Sources  
Natalie Curtis-Burlin, “Hammerin’ Song” in Negro Folk Songs, 1919
Versions of the John Henry Ballad
Burnham Wardwell, Superintendent of the Virginia Penitentiary, Report on Penitentiary Conditions to the Governor, Apr.il 30, 1868 
Virginia Penitentiary Report, 1871
“A Rockman’s Work in Tunnel Building,” New York Times, May 5, 1901
Photographs of Convict Laborers, 1890s–1910s
Difficulties Drilling, Letters to H.D. Whitcomb, Chief Engineer of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, 1869 and 1871
Project Questions
Additional Assignments