Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He revolutionised the automobile industry by introducing the moving assembly line and by producing an affordable car for the mass market.

Early Life

Ford was born in 1863 on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan. He showed an early interest in machinery, and he left the farm to work as a machinist in Detroit.

He worked for the Edison Illuminating Company and became chief engineer. He built his first experimental car, the Quadricycle, in 1896.

He founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 after two earlier ventures failed. The company produced the Model A and then the Model T.

The Model T and the Assembly Line

The Model T was introduced in 1908 and became the most famous car in history. It was simple, sturdy, and inexpensive, and it was designed for the roads of rural America.

Ford introduced the moving assembly line at his plant in Highland Park in 1913. The line reduced the time required to assemble a chassis and lowered the cost of production.

In 1914 he raised the wages of his workers to five dollars a day, a sum far above the prevailing rate. The move reduced turnover and enabled his workers to buy the cars they made.

Mass Production and Its Consequences

Ford's methods made the automobile affordable and transformed American society. The car changed patterns of settlement, of work, and of leisure.

The company expanded, and the Model T was produced in enormous numbers. By 1927 more than fifteen million had been built.

The success of Ford was imitated throughout the world, and mass production became the basis of modern industry. The term Fordism was coined to describe the system of production and of consumption.

Later Career and Views

Ford opposed the trade union movement, and he employed a private police force to suppress union activity. The conflict culminated in the Battle of the Overpass in 1937.

He was an isolationist and opposed American entry into the Second World War. He was also known for his antisemitic views, which he promoted through a newspaper that he owned.

He resigned the presidency of the company in 1945 in favour of his grandson Henry Ford II. He died in 1947.

Legacy

Ford's contribution to industry was the development of the assembly line and of the system of mass production. He made the automobile a central feature of modern life.

His social views and his labour practices have been widely criticised. His reputation is that of a brilliant engineer and a flawed man.

He is remembered as one of the most influential industrialists in history. The Ford Motor Company remains one of the largest manufacturers in the world.

The Model T

The Model T was designed for durability and for ease of repair. It had a high clearance for the poor roads of the time and a simple transmission.

The car was produced in a single colour for many years, and the famous remark that the customer could have any colour as long as it was black captured the logic of mass production. The design changed little over the years.

More than fifteen million Model T cars were built before production ended in 1927. The car made motoring accessible to the ordinary family.

The Five-Dollar Day

The announcement of a five-dollar daily wage in 1914 was a radical departure. It roughly doubled the prevailing wage and reduced the working day to eight hours.

The policy was designed to reduce the high turnover of labour and to enable the workers to buy the products they made. It contributed to the creation of a mass market for consumer goods.

The policy also imposed conditions on the workers, including the requirement that they submit to inspection of their private lives. The Sociological Department enforced the standards of the company.

The Ford Motor Company

The company grew into one of the largest industrial enterprises in the world. It established plants in Europe and in other regions.

Ford lost market share to General Motors, which offered a wider range of models and colours. He responded with the Model A in 1927, but the company did not regain its dominance.

The company was reorganised after the Second World War by Henry Ford II. It became a public company in 1956.

Labour Relations and Politics

Ford opposed the unionisation of his plants, and the conflict with the United Automobile Workers was bitter. The company eventually recognised the union in 1941.

He was an isolationist before the Second World War and opposed aid to Britain. He was also known for his antisemitism and for the publication of the Dearborn Independent, which reprinted the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

His son Edsel served as president of the company, and his grandson Henry Ford II succeeded him. The family retained control of the company for generations.

Legacy

Ford is credited with the development of the assembly line and with the creation of the mass market for the automobile. He changed the pattern of American life.

His social views and his labour practices have been condemned. He is remembered as a man of great technical ability and of narrow opinions.

His name is associated with the Ford Foundation and with the company that he founded. The system of production that he pioneered was adopted throughout the world.

See also

• Assembly line
• Mass production