How Did Henry Ford Contribute To Today

Henry Ford

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking”(Henry Ford Quotes). Henry Ford was an American businessman who was credited for transforming the American economy and revolutionizing factories with his modern assembly-line techniques. Henry Ford, with the introduction of his “Tin Lizzie”, assembly-line techniques, and higher wages, heavily impacted and contributed to the America we see today.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 near Dearborn, Michigan. Ford was born to a family who owned a farm and was the first surviving son of eight children born to his parents William and Mary Ford. For eight years, Ford attended a school when he was not helping at the family’s farm. At age thirteen, Ford’s father gifted him a pocket watch

Due to his stubbornness in the automobile industry, Ford missed the amount of profit and popularity that his Model T had brought him years before. Other companies were providing consumers with conventional gearshifts, hydraulic brakes, six- and eight-cylinder engines, and color choice on their vehicles. The Model A had been a relative disappointment in comparison to “Tin Lizzie”. The new model was outsold by General Motors’ Chevrolet and Chrysler’s Plymouth. Sadly, in 1936, Ford Motor Company went down to third place in the automobile sales industry. With the up-and-coming rise of labor unions, came tumult for Ford and his company. His $5 wage was raised to $7 in 1929, but had to be lowered to $4 because of the depression’s awakening. Ford had hired police and spies in order to suppress the effect of unionization that was invading his company. Finally, in 1941, Ford was defeated by the United Automobile Workers.

Later on, Henry Ford was involved in some turmoil because of his personal views. Ford was a pacifist and actively stood against WWI. In 1936, the Ford Foundation was planted and gifted grants for future research, education, and development. He also rewarded his employees who had stayed with the company for over six months and that lived in a moral way with profit

In 1918, Ford purchased a newspaper named The Dearborn Independent. In this newspaper, Ford wrote a series of volumes, expressing his disliking for Jewish people, named The International Jew. Henry Ford went as far as to say, “The genius of the Jew is to live off people; not off land, nor off the production of commodities from raw material, but off people. Let other people till the soil; the Jew, if he can, will live off the tiller. Let other people toil at trades and manufacture; the Jew will exploit the fruits of their work. That is his peculiar genius. If this genius be described as parasitic, the term would seem to be justified by a certain fitness” (Ford 1920 136). It is not certain why Henry Ford had such strong view against the Jewish nation. But, during Henry Ford’s childhood, many Jewish people were immigrating into the United States. Ford blamed the war, strikes, financial problems, and agricultural problems all on the Jews. Ford later denied writing these excerpts and eventually sold the paper. In 1938, Ford, after showing regard toward Adolf Hitler and Germany, was awarded the grand Cross of the German Eagle, which is the highest honor that can be given to a foreigner. After his son, Edsel, died in 1943, Ford took his position again as president of Ford Motor Company until 1945. In 1947, Henry Ford passed away at the age of 83 in his home in