Henry Ford Term Papers

In the late 1800s, a man by the name of Henry Ford had an idea that would eventually change the way of transportation forever. What started as a project in the shed behind Ford’s house turned into a Automotive company that introduced mass production to the industry. While Ford was not the first person to create a gasoline engine he was the first person to produce them commercially and figured out how to make a profit doing so.

Born into a small family in 1863, Ford was the oldest son of William and Mary Ford. At the age of 16 he set out in search of work in Detroit where he did apprentice work as a machinist but eventually returned to his home in Dearborne to work on the family farm. In 1888 Ford married Clara Bryant and the two would

In a letter to his associate Ford explained the potential in the racing business. Ford said that “there is a barrel of money in the business” and was dead set on it. Ford also says that “My Company will kick about me following racing but they will get the advertising and I expect to make $ where I cant make at manufacturing.” Henry knew the risk to reward ratio of the racing business and decided to pursue it for a short amount of time. He built a variety of different racing automobiles that were top of the line at the time. The race mobiles were so good that many of his designs including the “999” broke speed records in the racing sport. As Ford drew out of the racing industry, he never lost sight of the automotive industry and kept on working on new designs for the early Ford Motor Company. Shortly after the company was established Ford Motor Company released its first model, the Model A. The Model A was a eight horsepower two cylinder engine and it was assembled at a plant in Mack Avenue detroit. The Model A was the beginning of the cheap and affordable way of transportation and paved the way for more efficient and reliable

Ford made new adjustments to the Model A by improving the break system and increasing the horsepower. As Ford continued production on the Model A they quickly noticed that it was not going to be as great of a success as the Model T. Eventually other companies like Plymoth and Chrysler out sold the new Model A. As a result of this Henry Ford decided to discontinue the vehicle and focus his attention on building more efficient engines for the future of his company. Henry Ford’s leap of faith to create a business from nothing, starting in a small shed behind his house, presented him with the opportunity to create a mass production of his automobile designs. Despite having many road blocks such as losing partnerships and automobile designs not making it on the market, Ford still continued to pursue the automobile business. As soon as the Model T was released it gave Ford the big break he was looking for and suddenly his business was booming. Henry Ford eventually ended up leaving the company to his son Edsel Ford but after his sons death Henry regained the presidency of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford passed away in 1945 at the age of 83 at his house in Dearborne. The company was then passed on to Henry Ford’s Grandson, who was Edsel Ford’s