Who is the freed slave known for using a fourteen-pound hammer to defeat a steam drill in a race?

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Multiple Choice

Who is the freed slave known for using a fourteen-pound hammer to defeat a steam drill in a race?

John Henry is the legend about a freed slave who faced a steam-powered drill in a race and used a fourteen-pound hammer to try to outwork the machine. The story captures a moment when human skill, endurance, and craftsmanship are pushed against advancing technology during the railroad era, highlighting themes of perseverance and the human cost of industrial progress. While versions vary, the essential image is a single worker taking on a powerful drill, a symbol of labor fighting to keep pace with machines. The other names are well-known folk heroes from different traditions—Paul Bunyan as a giant lumberjack, and Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett as frontier explorers—none of whom are linked to the hammer-versus-steam-drill moment, so they don’t fit this description.

John Henry is the legend about a freed slave who faced a steam-powered drill in a race and used a fourteen-pound hammer to try to outwork the machine. The story captures a moment when human skill, endurance, and craftsmanship are pushed against advancing technology during the railroad era, highlighting themes of perseverance and the human cost of industrial progress. While versions vary, the essential image is a single worker taking on a powerful drill, a symbol of labor fighting to keep pace with machines. The other names are well-known folk heroes from different traditions—Paul Bunyan as a giant lumberjack, and Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett as frontier explorers—none of whom are linked to the hammer-versus-steam-drill moment, so they don’t fit this description.

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