can you think of one u.s folk hero and explain why they are larger than life?

Question

the u.s. is full of them. i'm supposed to be writing about legends and epics. the only legends that come to my mind are johnny appleseed and paul bunyan. have any better ideas? and if you do can you explain why they are "larger than life?"

Answer 1

I'm going to stick to real people that actually lived.

Davy Crockett --- Frontiersman, congressman, Freedom fighter at the Alamo.
Mike Fink--Flat boat Captain on the Mississippi Ohio and Missouri rivers.
Wild Bill Hickok -- Gun Fighter and Lawman of the Old West.
Judge Roy Bean -- Self appointed judge who dispensed justice "West of the Pecos."
John Luther (Casey) Jones--The was an Epic poem written by an African-American engine wiper about Casey Jones.

You might wish to go to a library and ask for the book "A Treasury of American Folklore" by B.A. Botkin.

Answer 2

John Henry.

Here is a link.

http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/wv2.html

The site also has most every tale of American folk lore there.