Henry Ford, hero or villain

Imagine how life would be if our society did not have cars. Today, our society is dependent on cars for our daily routines. From transporting our food, clothes, and technology to just going to the store across the street, cars are a very important part of our society. In the 19th century, only the wealthy and upper middle class had access to automobiles, and they only used cars for fancy transportation and to show off their money. This was due to the extreme prices of cars in the 19th century. With these high prices not many people could afford them, especially not the working class. Henry Ford revolutionized the automotive industry in the

Henry Ford was born on July 30 in 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan he was one of the first American industrialists and wanted to make a difference in the automobile industry. Back then, before 1908 automobiles were expensive that only rich people could afford. Henry Ford wanted to change this and wanted everyone to have a vehicle to drive. He was able to accomplish this by the assembly line, in which it created more cars in less time. The first car Henry Ford made was the Model T created on the assembly line. Ford’s innovation in manufacturing created less expensive cars and higher wage jobs. Henry Ford was also was a big help to the World War II as well because he built vehicles in that time to support the people in the War. Henry at

Ford increased his workers pay from 2.34 dollars an hour to 5 dollars an hour, raising the bar for the industry. Henry revolutionized the world by making it easier for people to get around. With Ford mass producing his cars it took no time to make them, so he could keep the price low and more people could afford them. Henry Ford wanted to revolutionize the world with the horseless carriage, he did so without “Cutting any ones throat” and was head of the first car company.

At the time of Roosevelt’s presidency, workers were treated quite poorly. Corporations provided harsh working conditions, very low wages, and negligible rights. One corrupt corporation was exposed in 1902. The actions from the workers, and Roosevelt’s support were a precedent for the reform enacted in the future. In 1902, a coal mine strike came forth from the workers. The labor accomplished was very dangerous, yet the

Henry Ford was one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in creating the automobile assembly line, it was his controversial characteristics and unorthodox approach towards administrating the Ford Motor Company which resulted in the conglomeration of one of the most successful corporations in the world. At the turn of the century everything was booming! The growth of the economy and stock market increased the job opportunities as well as morals. As a result of this industrial revolution, out of the woodwork came a humble yet driven man, Henry Ford. Between the five dollar/day plan, his policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his customers, Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This

Henry Ford was much like other children growing up. Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. He was raised on a farm and others could tell he would be extremely successful in his future. In order to learn more about the engines and be more successful, Henry Ford built friendships with the men who ran the full-sized steam engines. He learned how to fix watches in order to understand how machines worked. Ford was intrigued by machines and went the extra mile to learn more about them. He was willing to risk it all just to pursue his dream and would not let a bump in the road stop him.

The “Captains of Industry” (Carlyle, 1843) were men that furthered the Industrial Revolution and gain a large sum of money in the wake. Andrew Carnegie, known for his advancements of the steel industry, John Rockefeller, oil tycoon and Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, are just a few of the men that helped to shape the industrial era. As always, with great gain comes great losses and the people who worked for these men were not always treated properly. The mass amount of population willing to work and able to do the jobs created by these industries, drove down the amount of wages the owners were willing to pay. Skilled workers were often replaced by unskilled replacements if they became unhappy about the work load (Leonard 1979). The lack of government regulations on the businesses also contributed to the conditions the workers were forced to endure to make those small wages. Soon the labors joined forces to create unions and would strike to show this disapproval with the system the owners had created. Most of these strikes would end in violence due to the works demands not being met. Fortunately, these unions did create safer working environments, helped to raise wages and outlawed the child labor within the

Henry's dream of the automobile started with the production of his first auto, on June fourth 1896, the primitive auto was named the quadracycle. Not exactly a modern auto the Quadracycle was reminiscent to a babbycarrige on bicycle wheels but was a start to Ford's empire and the development of the automobile for the people. Many saw Henry's potential and helped him to find a successor to the Quadracycle; one such person was the Mayor of Detroit, William Mayburg who provided financial support to Ford to continue his research. Generous investors such as this and the help of four investors donating 10,000 dollars each led to the official founding of the Ford Motor Co. in 1901.

One strike that helped to further this feeling was the Pullman strike. When the workers shut down the railroad it shut down the western half if the country and stopped the economy. This brought dislike from government, businesses, and the people. Document A shows one side of the story, with an editorial from the New York Times. Within this article it said that the riots were nothing but “rash and spiteful demonstrations.” This editorial also showed the other side of the argument calling the workers bold and determined for standing up and trying to make their lives better. Many people did not agree with the stikes and the violent scenes that often took place after. Most disagreed with the sentiments of Samuel Gompers and the leaders of other unions. In Document H, Samuel Gompers talks of how the factories are constantly changing and making improvements and if the employees do not strike how they will be left behind and walked upon. He talks of how the United States was not created without suffering and struggling and so the workers must fight for what they wanted. Finally, as shown in Document E, the people did not take kindly, to the labor unions and what they were trying to do. They saw that they all had different goals and were all trying to get

The son of a farmer, Henry Ford was born near Detroit, Michigan to William Ford and Mary Ligot. Since his teens Ford has always been interested in tinkering and finding out how things worked. “At the young age of 15, he dissolved and reunited the timepieces of neighbors and friends many times and gained a status of a watch repairman.”(The Famous People) Ford started to get a lot of experience through servicing and working machines. “His father wanted him to take over the family farm over the course of time but he denied telling his father that he loved the farm just because his mother was there. In 1879, Ford left home and started working as an amateur machinist in Detroit city.” (The Famous People) He denies the opportunity to seek for something better and later on, Ford would start to work for the Westinghouse Company servicing steam

Greene begins by discussing how the unions became, specifically that the cigar makers, miners and carpenters wanted autonomy in the work force. These workers were mainly skilled and subject to a specific race and gender. At this time employers were feeling squeezed which lead to the Gilded Age, and although showed growth, it was a very unstable time period. Due to new technology many employees, skilled or not, were being forced from their jobs. Also at this

Henry Ford was critical of anybody’s viewpoints that went against his own. Ford was proud of the Model T, but he did not want to change it, and this failing resulted in Ford taking a back seat to his competitors and suffering a declining market share. “Being open-minded means you’re ‘open’ to actively listening and thinking about an idea or solution (BCEE, 2017d, p. 4). Ford often stifled and undermined his leaders, to include his own son who had been given the presidency of the company. However, one of the best example to illustrate Ford’s lack of open-mindedness comes from author John Maxwell who writes, “One day when a group of his designers surprised him by presenting him with the prototype of an improved model, Ford ripped its doors off the hinges and proceeded to destroy the car with his bare hands (1991, p. 122). This example shows how Ford failed to adhere to the critical thinking characteristic of open mindedness by shutting down new ideas on how to improve the Model T. These traits directly contributed to the Ford Motor Company almost filing

Once Mr. Ford recognized the challenge, he had to offer a solution to the problem and introduce it into the marketplace. A solution that created value and satisfaction. This meant creating successful relationships with his

When trying to make connections between democracy and capitalism, and how they play a role in our everyday society, looking closely at the emergence of a powerful company can be very informative. Throughout the documentary Henry Ford American Experience, we are introduced to the humble beginnings of the one well-known company in today’s society, the Ford Motor Company. With the in-depth account of the creator himself, Henry Ford and the focus on the labor practices used in his company, one can understand how the establishment came to be.

By the 1930 's Ford was a primary target of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union to increase wages and working conditions. Despite attempts by Henry Ford to keep the Unions out of the company, the Supreme Court rulings forced Ford to work with the UAW. Another sentence….