Through his innovations, Henry Ford changed America forever. His innovations are the reason that many Americans’ desires are so readily accessible. Henry Ford’s innovations had a significant effect on American society in the early 1900s and continue to impact twenty-first-century American life. In the early 1900s, the Model T provided affordable and dependable transportation for the average American. Henry Ford’s dream was to build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man …show more content…
One-hundred forty people worked the 150-foot assembly line in which all Ford cars including the Model T and most Ford cars thereafter were built (Goss). Because of the assembly line, Henry Ford was able to reduce the Model T’s cost from eight hundred fifty dollars in 1908 to only two hundred sixty dollars in 1924. Eight hundred fifty dollars and two hundred sixty dollars are equal to twenty-one thousand dollars and three thousand five hundred dollars today, respectively. The common man could not afford the first Model T, but more and more Americans could afford the Model T as time passed (Goss). Assembly-line production also brought in a multitude of new jobs, including jobs for disabled citizens, African Americans, and women that many companies did not originally hire. The new job offers made many families more successful in America because workers in Ford’s factories earned additional income. More families could be successful because the assembly line did not require the labor of experienced workers to operate it (Wicks). Even with the benefits of the assembly line offering many jobs and requiring no prior education, a job on the assembly line was not very interesting and quickly became repetitive. The job caused some workers to give up their jobs and go to work at places that did not use assembly lines. Even with new workers, …show more content…
The mass production of cars on the assembly line is a major cause of pollution in America today. According to Frank Wicks, Henry Ford’s empire “was built upon the internal combustion engine” (Wicks). The Model T ran on an internal combustion engine, and most cars still do. With these internal combustion engines everywhere they become pollution factories because of the carbon dioxide gas that they release (Curators). On the contrary, the Model T was a positive innovation in putting vehicles’ steering wheels on the left. Before the Model T, every vehicle had right-hand steering. Henry Ford decided to move the steering wheel to the left side because it “gave the driver a better view of oncoming or overtaking traffic when passing or turning left” (Curators). Forthwith, Henry Ford is also a major factor in the development of today’s middle class. Because of the five-dollar work day, Henry Ford’s workers could afford more than economic-class citizens, but they did not have as much money as the upper class. The middle class back in the early 1900s evolved into today’s middle class (Wicks). Today, many average-income people drive luxury cars that are reasonably priced. Without the assembly line, people may not be able to enjoy driving novelty cars. More Americans would most likely be walking and cycling everywhere (Labadie).
More automobiles were manufactured and bought by people that made their life much easier. However, the machinery was dangerous and laborers worked for unfair employers. “You are surrounded… with an infinite number of comforts and conveniences which had no existence two or three centuries ago and those comforts are not only used by a few, but are within the reach of almost all men. Every day is adding something to your comforts” (Document 9). Every day, new machines and devices were developed for the satisfaction of the people who used those contraptions.
Many American now began to fight for better wages so they could participate in the purchasing of the consumer goods such as the Model T car. Ford was creating a new class of living for the United States not only were they compensating their employees better than most companies but he was lowering the price of cars so that American would be able to purchase them on their income. After the creation of the assembly line Ford could lower the price of his cars by over half from $700 in 1910 to $316 in 1916. The car could be purchased by the working class of America.
The automobile was one of the greatest developments during the twentieth century. The Model T, first produced by Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Company, in 1908, was the first affordable automobile in America. Although automobiles had already existed for decades, they were scarce and expensive. The Ford Model T made owning an automobile, which was a safer and more reliable means of transportation, a realistic achievement for the majority of the public. With the development of the automobile, came many new possibilities.
Today transportation has never been easier with the invention of the car or automobile. These 3000-4000 pounds of metal is the main methods of transportation for America. Whether it be by taxi, bus, or even by your own car you bought yourself going to your destination. However, none of this would be possible if it was not for Henry Ford in a free enterprise system. The free enterprise system allowed Henry Ford to create a product that allowed all of the lower class and upper class to afford an automobile.
Henry Ford is one of the most important and acclaimed entrepreneur in United States history with his major attribution and key development being the model T car, which was the first widely available automobile. This invention made everyday life better for everyone who now had access to the automobile. Henry would not have been able to achieve his successes and develop this car, had the free enterprise system not been implemented. His innovative and breakthrough ways didn't stop at the model T car either, he also powered the breakthrough and start of the industrial revolution, due to his way of assembling cars in an assembly line. This method proved to be extremely efficient and boosted sales and profits immensely.
One of his most notable contributions was the development of the assembly line, which allowed for the mass production of cars at a much faster rate and at a lower cost. This changed the automobile industry, making cars more affordable and accessible to the average American. Additionally, Ford also introduced the $5 workday, which raised the wages of his workers to a pay level that allowed them to afford the cars they were building. This helped to create a self sustaining cycle of consumption, as the workers could now afford to buy the cars they were building. Ford's innovations also had a broader impact on the economy, helping the growth of the middle class and creating new opportunities for workers.
1) Henry Ford enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together from a very young age. He was very creative and had many innovative ideas about engines and automobiles in general. Ford utilized his ideas to create the world’s first affordable car, AKA the Model T. The Model T became a force to be reckoned with in the world of industry, and earned Ford most of his fortune. The model was also extremely successful because it was affordable, easy to drive and cheap to repair. The Model T was so prosperous that Ford had to significantly upsize his production rate in order to meet the ballooning demand.
Automobiles were affordable and were designed carefully. The majority of these cars were produced by the Ford Motor Company, led by Henry Ford, who designed a different model each year to satisfy the insatiable crowd. Many of the automotive innovations that we think of as being modern—like electric powered cars, four wheel drive, front wheel drive, hybrid fuel and electric cars—were introduced during the 1920s. The automobiles had various different colors in order to get the attention of people, especially woman, and through time, they evolved to become more comfortable to drive for men (Scott ,1). The automobiles were beneficial to the U.S because they expanded the area of habitat.
Key events from 1860 to 1920 played an important fundamental role in the development and modernization of our country. The United States underwent many reforms during this time, such as economic, social and political changes. The building of the railroad led to more convenient travel and distribution across the country. In 10 years of completion the railroad approximately shipped at least 50 million dollars worth of freight.
He began the Ford Motor Company and used the assembly line. The assembly line allowed for fast and easier work. But most of all he created an affordable car for all. His goal was to create an affordable car that the average working man could afford, because all the car that were already produced were not affordable and were very expensive. This allowed for everyone to own a car rather than just the rich.
Automobiles in the1920s Can you imagine a life without a car to get you from place to place? Today we rely so heavily on automobiles that most people use them several times a day. The automobile was not invented in the 1920s but it began to change and start to change the way all Americans lived. The new ideas of Henry Ford and mass production with the assembly line created the opportunity to make lots of automobiles and also to make them affordable for almost everyone. The automobile industry opened the door for lots of other business opportunities like service stations and motels.
Henry Ford was an entrepreneur who founded the Ford Motor Company in June of 1903 and grew it into a very successful business. He achieved this through free enterprise, an economic system which places few restrictions on business activities and ownership. This system allowed Ford to begin his company without restrictions from the government either preventing him from establishing it or from limiting his success. It not only helped Ford to achieve his goals in business, but it has also helped many other entrepreneurs as well. The free enterprise system has been a necessary component in allowing people, such as Henry Ford, to start, grow, and own their own businesses.
The automobiles name was the Model T. The Model T had no seatbelts it didn’t have a radio but it changed the way people would travel for the next 107 years. The model T’s average price was $550. Henry Ford said, “I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be so low in price that no man will be unable to own one.”
Henry Ford was a meaningful figure in the history of cars and the assembly line. The assembly line was just one of his great achievements with cars. The assembly line was extremely useful at this time because cars could be made in a mass production on the assembly line and sold for a cheaper price. Once Ford realized how efficient the line has he used his prior knowledge of cars and perfected the cars, which eventually paid off with being world famous for his car making method. Another contribution Henry made was the Ford Model-T which changed the car industry.
Within the boom of the automobile industry, cars were only available to the rich that could afford them at the time. The process to build a car was long, crafty, and required a large effort of team-developed skills. Henry Ford's vision was to create an automobile that could bridge the gap and allow for everyone to have access to owning his Model-T. He partnered with Fredrick Taylor to change his organizational production model into a car producing "machine". Taylors disdained for slow worker production contributed to the automobile revolution.