Henry Ford: Industrial Pioneer
Henry Ford: Industrial Pioneer Jackie Robinson once asserted, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Not many people can say that he or she has truly impacted the lives of all Americans. Without the efforts of Henry Ford, the country’s focus from his life and on changes immensely. Modern day accessibility to transportation has shaped the lifestyle of the average human by allowing greater access to life outside of his or her locality. This lifestyle would be completely transformed if Ford had not enacted his many accomplishments. Henry Ford revolutionized American life in the twentieth century by creating more accessible transportation and better opportunities for people and by transforming methods of mass production
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There were many kinks that needed to be worked out in order to further the business and continue selling product. After many trials and errors, Ford announced on October 1, 1908, his next impressive achievement: the Model T Ford. This model was the least flawed and the most attractive vehicle the Ford Motor Company had produced thus far, and it sold accordingly. When the Model T first went on the market, it was priced at $850, a sum equivalent to $20,000 in the twenty-first century; however, the eventual practice of the assembly would drastically drop prices, making it the most affordable car on the market (“The Model T and American Life” …show more content…
Many companies at the time discriminated against African Americans, so Ford’s unbiased payments went a long way for the segregated community. Since the workers Ford was employing didn’t need much skill to operate on an assembly line, taking on any person willing to do the work proved to be beneficial to his company. Beth Tompkins Bates, former professor at Wayne State University who studies black life in America, argues that although the factory conditions were not desirable, black Americans thought it was worth it due to the higher wages, increased social status, and sense of pride in working under Ford (252). Bates also suggests that Ford’s five-dollar day policy helped integrate the black community by providing work regardless of race (39). Not only did the automobile help the consumers and aid American industrialization, but it also benefited each hard working employee of the Ford Motor
There were many kinks that needed to be worked out in order to further the business and continue selling product. After many trials and errors, Ford announced on October 1, 1908, his next impressive achievement: the Model T Ford. This model was the least flawed and the most attractive vehicle the Ford Motor Company had produced thus far, and it sold accordingly. When the Model T first went on the market, it was priced at $850, a sum equivalent to $20,000 in the twenty-first century; however, the eventual practice of the assembly would drastically drop prices, making it the most affordable car on the market (“The Model T and American Life” …show more content…
Many companies at the time discriminated against African Americans, so Ford’s unbiased payments went a long way for the segregated community. Since the workers Ford was employing didn’t need much skill to operate on an assembly line, taking on any person willing to do the work proved to be beneficial to his company. Beth Tompkins Bates, former professor at Wayne State University who studies black life in America, argues that although the factory conditions were not desirable, black Americans thought it was worth it due to the higher wages, increased social status, and sense of pride in working under Ford (252). Bates also suggests that Ford’s five-dollar day policy helped integrate the black community by providing work regardless of race (39). Not only did the automobile help the consumers and aid American industrialization, but it also benefited each hard working employee of the Ford Motor