Jeremiah R. Blocker
HIUS 713: American Entrepreneurship Since 1900
Introduction –
Henry Ford is remembered as one of the great American innovators and business leaders during the formative years of the early 20th Century. Primarily remembered as the founder of the Ford Motor Company and creator of mass production, his influence extended well beyond these narrow areas of influence. Ford was a business magnate and philanthropist who made important innovations available to middle-class American families.[1]
Born to a middle-class family on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan, on July 30, 1863, Ford demonstrated an early interest in mechanics and machinery. As a young teenager, he left the farm to work as a machinist’s apprentice in Detroit, which later led to working for the Westinghouse Company to set up and repair steam engines. In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company and was promoted to chief engineer in 1893. This role gave him enough time and money to experiment with gasoline engines, leading to the completion of his first self-propelled vehicle, the Quadricycle, in 1896.[2]
After several efforts and failed attempts at starting an automobile company, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903. Ford created, developed introduced the iconic Model T in October 1908, as a durable, simple, and inexpensive car that became immensely popular across the economic spectrum. To meet overwhelming demand, Ford and his engineers developed the first moving assembly line for automobiles in 1913, dramatically reducing production time and cost. [3]
Ford’s systematic approach to lowering costs and increasing efficiency is known as “Fordism”. He implemented an eight-hour workday and, in 1914, famously announced a $5 daily wage for his workers, nearly double the standard rate at the time. This move increased productivity, reduced employee turnover, and enabled his workers to afford the cars they were producing, fostering the rise of an American middle class.
Methodology of Assessment –
Ford’s method of industrial engineering and manufacturing system has long been studied in different fields for applications. These applications include the medical field as well as the obvious fields of manufacturing and mass production that have assessed the importance of Ford’s system. Defects and waste can be evaluated through a system of standardized visual data incorporated through a daily management system. [4]
Ford’s Impact on the American Economy –
Ford’s creation of the Model T introduced an affordable, innovative vehicle that help revolutionize the American economy in the early years of the 20th Century. It rapidly became the first car for millions of Americans who owned the affordable and easy to operate vehicle, changing the economic outlook for many.[5]
Creating an improved workforce by increasing pay and compensation was one of the lasting hallmarks of Henry Ford. The Ford Motor Company under Henry Ford committed to paying workers $5 dollars per day which reduced employee turnover, attracted better workers and tremendously boosted productivity. In turn, profits increased for shareholders and led to further economic growth in the markets.
These changes helped boost the quality of life and economic outlook for the American middle-class who were greatly impacted by these and other important changes fostered by Ford.
Ford’s Impact on American Innovation –
Henry Ford was so effective in creating a system of production and innovation that it has its own name, “Fordism”. This is a system of mass production and standardization of processes. Some important aspects of Fordism include assembly line mass production, standardization, high wages, clear division of labor, scientific management and mass consumption.
The system of mass production and mass consumption that defined Fordism had a global appeal of developed economies during the 20th Century. Who economic systems were reliant on the principles encapsulated in the innovative, reliant design of industrialism. Ford was able to identify methods for increasing profit while at the same time improving the lives and economic abilities of middle-class workers unlike anyone else during this period.[6]
Through a vision for creating a center for production, Ford created a massive, vertically integrated industrial complex. Located at the River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan, this became a hallmark for implementing Ford’s long-term vision. The plant could turn raw materials like iron ore and coal into a finished automobile within 28 hours, without reliance on outside suppliers for most parts.
Conclusions –
Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947, at his home in Dearborn, Michigan, at the age of 83. He left most of his vast fortune to the Ford Foundation, a philanthropic organization he established in 1936.
Ford was a complex and controversial figure. He was a vocal pacifist during the early years of World War I, organizing a “Peace Ship” expedition to Europe in 1915 that was largely unsuccessful. In the 1920s, he gained widespread criticism for promoting antisemitic views through his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. He published articles that were compiled into tome called The International Jew. Most of these writings he renounced later in life but the controversy remained. In addition, Ford was strongly against labor unions and was the last of the major automakers to recognize unions pre-Second World War.[7]
His legacy is monumental, fundamentally reshaping modern industry and everyday life through mass production and the widespread availability of the automobile.
Bibliography
Cankovic, Milena, Ruan C. Varney, Lisa Whiteley, Ron Brown, Rita D’Angelo, Dhananjay Chitale, and Richard J. Zarbo. “The Henry Ford Production System: LEAN Process Redesign Improves Service in the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory.” The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics: JMD 11, no. 5 (2009): 390–99. https://doi.org/10.2353/jmoldx.2009.090002.
Goodman, Peter. “Lessons From Henry Ford About Today’s Supply Chain Mess.” Nytimes.com, June 10 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/business/henry-ford-supply-chain.html.
McGraw, Bill. “Henry Ford and the Jews, the Story Dearborn Didn’t Want Told.” Bridge Michigan, February 4, 2019. https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/henry-ford-and-jews-story-dearborn-didnt-want-told/.
Tolliday, Steven, and Jonathan Zeitlin. The Automobile Industry and Its Workers: Between Fordism and Flexibility. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987.
Watts, Steven. The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century. Vintage Books: New York, NY, 2005.
[1] Steven Watts, The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century (Vintage Books: New York, NY, 2005).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Cankovic, Milena, Ruan C. Varney, Lisa Whiteley, Ron Brown, Rita D’Angelo, Dhananjay Chitale, and Richard J. Zarbo. “The Henry Ford Production System: LEAN Process Redesign Improves Service in the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory.” The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics: JMD 11, no. 5 (2009): 390–99. https://doi.org/10.2353/jmoldx.2009.090002.
[5] Peter Goodman, “Lessons From Henry Ford About Today’s Supply Chain Mess.” Nytimes.com, June 10 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/business/henry-ford-supply-chain.html.
[6] Steven Tolliday and Jonathan Zeitlin, The Automobile Industry and Its Workers: Between Fordism and Flexibility (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987).
[7] Bill McGraw, “Henry Ford and the Jews, the Story Dearborn Didn’t Want Told.” Bridge Michigan, February 4, 2019. https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/henry-ford-and-jews-story-dearborn-didnt-want-told/.
Jeremiah Blocker - HIUS 713 
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