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Saul Martinez
Professor Mary Gifford
English 114B
4/25/2014
Henry Ford
An innovator is a person who produces something new or something not yet establish.
Henry Ford is considered to be one of the most top innovators in recent history; he transformed
the automobile industry and continues to affect our lives today. Henry Fords refusal to quit has
shaped the world we live in today. Henry Ford was not the first man to invent the car but his
innovations in the factory and in the business world has change the way companies operate their
companies today.
Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in a farm in Dearborn, Michigan. At a young age
Ford showed promise of engineering, at a young age Ford would make friends with steam engine
workers and through friendship learned how they operated. Fords father was a simple farmer and
Ford had to make a decision to either follow in his fathers footsteps or follow his dreams. Fords
fascination with machines led him to pursue his dream and on 1879 he left the Farm to become
an apprentice at the Michigan Car Company. Ford was a manufacturer of railroads in Detroit and
over the next two years he held several similar jobs. After 3 years Ford moved back home but
not to become a Famer he instead was showing that he preferred to work on his own than for
somebody else. In 1891 Ford moved to Detroit with his new wife Clara Bryant to take a job as a
night engineer for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, Ford took this opportunity to learn
something new. In 1896 Ford achieved a great accomplishment he had built his first self-
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propelled vehicle, the Quadricycle. It had four wheels with and was steered with a tiller from a
boat and only had two forward speeds without a reverse. Ford did not stop there he saw room for
improvement and decided to pursue the automotive business and in 1898 a second car followed
and he persuaded a group of businessmen to back him up to start a company but with high risk
come high failure and this was the case for Ford. Ford failed business did not stop him he instead
continue to improve his automobiles and began to race and produce race cars. The success of the
cars got the attention of businessmen and on July 16, 1903 Henry Ford achieved his dream and
Ford Motor Company was born.
Henry Ford notice that the car companies were targeting the wrong customer based, cars
were seen as a luxury item that only the rich can afford, he wanted to create a car that was more
affordable and assessable to the public. According to William A. Levinson writer of The
Automotive pioneers ideas on practices, SR are still applicable today says The term triple
bottom line refers to the measurement of a businesss impact on people, planet and profits in
other words, if you gain more of one you have less of the others. Henry Ford knew that he must
find a way to get the maximum profit and while pleasing people. Ford saw how meat packers
worked in the assembly and was impressed how fast they were going, so he decided to use the
assembly line in his own company. Ford at the time thought it was just a less cost effect way of
producing a car but little did he know that he revolutionize the workplace. It was because of this
innovation many people didnt have to be crafts men to get a job, the era of specialize worker
was over. The reason that most cars were very expensive before the assembly line was because
the people that were making them were specialized only a couple of people worked on a single
car at a time which made the cars more time consuming and expensive. Ford had the perfect
solution instead of someone who know has to build an entire car he instead hired someone that
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only had to build one thing of the car over and over again. According to www.hfmgv.com Henry
Ford hired in 1913 53,000 people in his factory to keep up with production needs. Ford design
the assembly line easy to be a part of so that his workers would become experts in no time. It
was proven during World War II. Henry Ford protested the war from the beginning and didnt
think that America should get involve but on December 7, 1941 war was inevitable, the attack on
Pearl Harbor was a declaration of war from the Japanese and Henry Ford sprang into action
helping the American military making airplanes, tanks, jeeps, and bombers. Ford was given the
assignment of building the B-24 liberator which was composed of 488,193 parts. Ford assembly
line would be tested but ford knew that his way of production was up to the challenge, according
to Franks Wicks author of mechanical Engineer Ford said that there were more jobs in his
factories that could be done by the blind and the deaf than there were people with those
handicaps. The workers of the B-24 Liberator were made up of women and old men and they
were able to build the Liberator in less an hour surpassing expectations. The demand for vehicles
during World War II was enormous and thanks to the assembly line it was met and the allies
were able to defeat their enemies.
The Model T was seen as many as the car that revolutionize the car industry. Henry Ford
did invent the affordable car but many of his early models where as expensive as his
competition. Ford saw the assembly line as the answer to his problem so he and others began to
design a car that could be affordable and customizable. According to John Betton and Thomas J.
Hench of the Journal of Genocide Research Henry Ford had a saying that you can have Any
color [for your car] as long as its black which was Fords response to the over design that many
cars at that time had. Henry did not want to cater to the few rich people he wanted to cater to the
masses. According to Franks Wicks Henry Ford said that there would be only one Ford car. It
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would be built for the multitudes, large enough to carry a family, but simple enough, and small
enough, for the average family to maintain. Any man with a good salary could afford one, and
enjoy with his family the hours of pleasure in God's open spaces. The Model T was the clear
answer the price around 1913 was $450 compared to $850 in 1909. The Model T was soon in
demand and Ford found it Hard to keep up with the demand because may people would quit
because of the repetitive work none stop. Ford had the perfect solution to his problem, he would
simply raise their pay. According to Canadafreepress.com On January 5, 1914, Ford announced
that he was more than doubling the minimum daily pay for his workers from $2.34 a day to $5 a
day. He also set the work week to five eight hours day. This decision was very profitable to
Ford no longer having the problem of wasting money on hiring people. Many rival companies
had to change their ways because they saw a lot of people quitting and applying to Ford motor
company. Henry Ford handle the problem and because of his quick thinking the weekend was
born and people would now be able to take their families out instead of working all the time. It
was clear the before Henry Ford companies didnt have any regulation like there is today; they
can fire people for no reason, make them work overtime, and pay them less to nothing, but after
Fords announcement on January 5 people now had a schedule and more money. Ford gave his
employees the chance to buy the cars that they were making and people began to take advantage
of this by going out and enjoying what America had to over. The Model T was a perfect choice
for many families; with its low maintenance, affordability, and its great traction capable of going
on any road, it not hard to believe that by 1922 half of the cars in America were Model Ts. Henry
Ford was riding high with the successes of the Model T but with it basic design many people
soon started demanding something with more style. Ford saw that there was no need for
overdesign and soon saw sales go down and with customers going to other companies that were
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giving their customers more customization options for low prices like Chevrolet. Ford innovation
of the production line and the model T revolutionize the world it change the workplace into what
it is today.
Henry Ford innovations have yet to be recognize in todays age he is still seen as an evil
capitalist. Henry Ford was given an award by Adolf Hitler according to the The Darker Side of
Henry Ford he accepted an award from the German government, The Grand Cross of the
Supreme Order of the Eagle. Ford was given this award for his anti-Semitic views against Jewish
people. Henry Ford believed that all evil came from the Jewish community. He was sure that the
Jews were taking over. Ford publish his views on his company newspaper. According to
www.pbs.org Ford publish 91 issues in his newspaper and then later bounded the articles into
four volumes titled The International Jew. Ford was convince that Jewish people were
creating conspiracies. Ford soon began to be fascination to the Nazi party. The Nazis saw him as
an ally, someone who shared the same views. Adolf Hitler mention Henry Fords book in his
book Mein Kamp and according to www.nowtheendbegings.com saying I regard Henry Ford as
my inspiration. The Nazi party was fascinated by Henry Ford so when it came to down to start
production on their vehicles they model their factories after Fords. According to
www.rarehistoricalphotos.com the Nazi appointed manager of the airplane builder Junkers,
Heinrich Koppenberg, was a vocal disciple of Ford production techniques. Henry Ford had some
of the same view as Adolf Hitler but his innovations has may it possible for now a days for
anyone to own a car.
In todays age people take their cars for granted. They dont see that automobile is one of
the most amazing invention mankind has ever invited, and because of Henry Ford many of us are
able to afford. Cars are capable on taking us to new places, help us meet new people, and help us
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experience a different way of living. People fail to realize that automobiles where seen as a
luxury item something only the elite can afford, before Henry Ford and his assembly line owing
a car was just a dream. Henry Ford was a capable of bring the cost down of an expensive luxury,
it is because of him that we can afford most of our things. The assembly is still in use today most
of the items that are produce come from assembly line but times has changed since Fords
assembly line. In 1913 when the model T came the production of the car was all done by hand
now a days thanks to the technology most of the work is done by robots. Henry Ford assembly
line is still in use today but his way of handling problems unfortunately in not. Ford saw that his
workers were unhappy because of the repetitive work and no guidelines, so he raise their pay to
five dollars and instituted five to eight work days. This was very revolutionary at the time, there
were no regulation for companies on how to treat their workers but thanks to Henry Ford
regulations began to emerge through companies. Ford Motor Company was seen as the example
to lead companies would either follow or run the chance of losing all their workers. Henry Ford
knew that he must invest in the worker to get the best out of them. Today companies scare the
workers, people are scared that if they demand more they will lose their jobs to foreign countries.
Detroit the motor city once a thriving metropolis saw its decline once the auto industries began to
move their companies out of the states. Detroit according to www.neighborhoodscout.com place
6th in the Americas top work cities. It is clear that Auto industry can have a great impact but
also a bad one. Many of the auto companies in foreign countries are taking advantage of the lack
regulation that countries have on their workers. According to www.huffingtonpost.com workers
of Ford in Mexico make $26 a day. The workers are making less money than the worker that
produce the model T in 1914. Ford Auto Company had taken step backwards from the
innovations that Henry Ford made. What made the model T so poplar was that it was simple it
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didnt have features that were unnecessary, now a days all that people car about it was new
luxuries the car comes with. According www.onlinewsj.com the average price of the car has
risen to $30,360 and thousands of dollars go to features. Society is over paying for feature they
dont really need. The car was meant for a means of fast transportation, not for it to become a
rolling office. It seems as now a days people are caught up with the features of the cars that they
forget what they can be used for, and its to drive to get away. Ford auto company once was a
company to follow and hopefully soon it will be again because according to www.autoblog.com
Ford is moving there factory from Mexico to Ohio starting 2015. Ford Company has always been
an innovator a company that others follow and try to be like. Ford may have had its downs but
hopefully their rise will start a trend that will get the auto industry booming again.
Henry Ford is the American dream he proved that no matter who you are where you
come from if you work hard you will become successful. Henry Ford innovations are still
impacting our everyday lives. Ford was able to mass produce a luxury and made accessible to the
common people, soon companies started to do the same not just auto companies but everyone.
His regulations is the way that most Americans live their lives by. Henry Ford may not have
some of the best views but his brilliance didnt just change the auto industry but every industry
in the world.





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Work Cited Page
Academic Research
Alizon, Fabrice, Steven B. Shooter, and Timothy W. Simpson. "Henry Ford
And The Model T: Lessons For Product Platforming And Mass
Customization." Design Studies 30.5 (2009): 588-605. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Levinson, William A. "Ford's Focus." Quality Progress 44.9 (2011):
48-52. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Betton, John, and Thomas J. Hench. "Any Color As Long As It's Black": Henry Ford And The Ethics Of
Business." Journal Of Genocide Research 4.4 (2002): 533-541. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Apr.
2014.
"The Darker Side Of Henry Ford." Mechanical Engineering 125.11 (2003): 8. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 2 May 2014.
Research
Bruce, Chris. "Ford Moving Medium-duty F-Series Production from Mexico to Ohio." Autoblog. N.p., 27
Feb. 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.
"Henry Ford Receiving the Grand Cross of the German Eagle from Nazi Officials, 1938." Rare Historical
Photos. N.p., 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 May 2014.
"NTEB: Henry Ford, Adolph Hitler's Inspiration For Treatment Of Jews." NTEB: Henry Ford, Adolph
Hitler's Inspiration For Treatment Of Jews. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.

Passy, Charles. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 02 May 2014.
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neighborhoodScout's Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S." Top 100 Most Dangerous Places to Live in
the USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.