Henry Ford is one of the most significant figures in the history of the United States, especially in relation to the history and significance of the late Industrial Revolution. In fact, he is considered to be one of the most significant captains of industry of the late 19th century in the United States. Today, he is best remembered as one of the greatest inventors and entrepreneurs in United States history. For example, he is known for starting the Ford Motor Company and developing the first mass-produced automobile. As well, his company is credited with utilizing the assembly line method of production, which revolutionized mass production.
Henry Ford was born in the state of Michigan in the United States on July 30, 1863. His father was Irish, and his mother was American. Henry Ford was naturally interested in basic machines and inventions form an early age. For instance, as a young man, Henry’s father gave him a pocket watch. Henry supposedly took the watch apart to better understand its workings. This led to an interest in clocks and watches as a teenager, which resulted in him repairing the timepieces of friends and family. Unfortunately, Henry Ford’s mother died unexpectedly in 1876, and his father expected Henry to take over the family farm. However, Henry Ford did not enjoy the farm work and was instead drawn to working with different machines and parts.
In 1879, Henry Ford left his family’s farm and travelled to Detroit, Michigan where he started work as an apprentice machinist. When he did return to the family farm, he focused more on improving the machinery than actually working on the farm itself. For instance, he reportedly worked on a steam engine on the farm. Ford also studied bookkeeping around this time. Unhappy with life on the farm, Henry Ford left in 1891 and started working as an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. He was quickly promoted to chief engineer, which allowed him the income to save up enough money to work on his own experiments, including gasoline engines. For example, in 1896 Ford developed a self-propelled vehicle which he called the Ford Quadricycle. This was the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford. It was built with a simple frame, had four bicycle wheels and an engine that ran on ethanol. Many improvements were made to the Ford Quadricycle, and he raced it throughout the United States.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
In 1903, Henry Ford completed an important event in his own life and the history of technological innovation in the United States – he developed the Ford Motor Company with other investors. The company developed a number of automobiles, and he became a very successful man. For example, his Model T was one of the first significant automobiles in American history and was produced on a mass scale. The Model T was first introduced in 1908 and had several features that are still common in today’s vehicles. It proved to be a wildly popular automobile and is credited with transforming the way that people travel. It’s popularity was due in part to a few main factors. First, the Model T was relatively inexpensive and could be afforded by many people at the time. For instance, when it first released it cost approximately $825, which relates to about $23,000 in today’s currency. Furthermore, with improvements to production Ford was able to lower the cost of the vehicle, which led to increased sales. The second reason for the popularity of Henry Ford’s Model T is that it was easy to drive. It had a sensible steering, drive and brake system, which allowed it to be easily learned and operated by most people. Third, the Model T was developed with parts that were easily and cheaply replaceable. As such, it was affordable for most people to fix and repair the vehicle themselves. In fact, the Model T was so popular that by 1914, more that 250,000 of them had been sold in the United States. The sales increased to over 472,000 by 1916 after Ford cut the price of the Model T to just $360. In fact, by 1918, half of all the cars in the United States were Model T’s. The Model T maintained its popularity with the American public well into the mid-1920 when it was eventually replaced by the new Model A.
Another innovation pioneered by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company was the development of the assembly line in industrial production. Under this model of production, a part would travel along a belt and workers would install individual pieces. This meant that each worker generally performed the same installation over and over again. Previous to this method, workers would often perform several tasks, but the development of the assembly line simplified production and led to dramatic increases in the output of the factories. This is important because it allowed Henry Ford to develop his automobiles faster, which allowed him to increase sales while also lowering the overall price of the automobile. The development of the assembly line as a method of production is a significant step forward in the mass production of goods. As such, it became an important production technique throughout the later years of the Industrial Revolution and remains an important innovation still today.
Not only did Ford’s development of the automobile help transform society, but his labor policies also improved working conditions for ordinary people. For example, Henry Ford is considered to be a pioneer of the idea of welfare capitalism in the United States. Welfare capitalism is a form of capitalism that includes basic social programs that generally benefit the poor or working-class. For instance, Ford spearheaded two main ideas with the workers in his factories. First, he introduced the ideas of a five-dollar wage in 1914. At the time, this was more than double what other industrial workers were being paid. Second, Ford introduced the five-day working week. He instituted a plan which lowered the number of hours employees workers each week. For instance, by 1926, workers in his factories worked a maximum of five days a week and eight hours a day for a total of forty hours a week.
LATER YEARS AND DEATH
Ford opposed American involvement in World War I and World War II. With that said, during both world wars, the Ford Motor Company assisted the United States by producing aircraft and aircraft engines. For example, during World War II, Henry Ford ordered the construction of a massive factory (Willow Run) near Detroit, Michigan. In fact, the factory had the largest assembly line in the world at the time. At its height, the factory had a B-24 bomber coming off the assembly line every 58 minutes. Furthermore, the Willow Run factory produced over 9,000 B-24’s during the war, which was more than half of all of the B-24 bombers used by the United States in World War II.
World War II was also significant for Henry Ford for a negative reason. Earlier in his life, Ford had overseen the publishing of articles that were anti-Semitic in nature (prejudice towards Jewish people). As such, with the context of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, Ford had developed some controversy associated with his name. In fact, in July of 1938, which was just before the outbreak of World War II, Nazi Germany gave Ford the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle. This is significant because it was the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner.
With that said, Henry Ford suffered a series of strokes in the 1930s, which limited his ability to control the company. In fact, at this time the company was essentially run by a team of senior executives who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the factory in Ford’s name.
With his health failing from several strokes, Ford died on April 7, 1947.
With his health failing from several strokes, Ford died on April 7, 1947.