Henry Ford's Role In American Society

Improved Essays
Cesar Laboy
Mr. Berardelli, p. 3
Honors American Cultures 11, 6.0
3 December, 2014

Title

Although Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, he made it a common thing to have one. By using a method of mass production, he found it easy to produce automobiles at a faster rate for a low cost. A large percentage of parts on his cars were standardized, making production more efficient. As a result, the infamous Model T was born and well known. Americans all over the country began to buy these cars and the cars started to have a positive effect on their everyday lives. Traveling would become more common throughout the nation and the demand for Ford 's cars continued to increase. The 1920 's was the peak for automobiles being bought by the average
…show more content…
Automobiles began to serve a significant role in the society of the United States. During the roaring 1920’s, almost every American wanted to own one of Henry Ford’s automobiles. In 1929, 25.3 million more people, than in 1913, were the owners of Ford cars. The substantial increase was a product of Henry Ford 's raise of wages because his workers could now afford his cars. Early in the year of 1914, Ford capitalized on something not many employers would do and that was to raise factory workers wages to five dollars per day (Johnson). This critical move helped keep the Americans that worked for him happy because of the undesirable wages and conditions that they were familiar with. The present minimum wage in the auto factory was about $2.34 (Profit-Sharing Plan of Ford Motor CO.). Henry also imposed a new method along with the pay raises, which were policies of welfare capitalism. This implemented the social welfare of Ford 's employees such as types of insurance and promotions. This move gained himself and his company …show more content…
He help establish a working middle class and the development of suburbs. Most of his contributions are long term affects that are normal for our society in America today. Ford helped promote a stable economy with his mass production of automobiles. Henry Ford has contributed to the lives of Americans with his innovations that revolutionized the society and economy of the early 1900

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863. He is the creator of the automobile company Ford. He invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in his shed in 1901. His invention of the car had a significant impact on society. The invention of the automobile would not only change society but the world and its inventions.…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The impact that Henry Ford made on transportation is one of the only reasons the United States grew and prospered so much at the time. Ford wanted to sell an automobile that anyone could afford to buy. He said “It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise.” On October 1, 1908, the first automobile that Ford Motor Company made was completed. This first automobile was the Model T, it was sold for $825, or about $18,000 in today’s world.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Reading about Andrew Carnegie I got to learn more about the Gilded Age as well as the American Society during the time. Coming from a small house in Scotland to making 23 million dollars a year, Carnegie made the American dream a reality. Growing the steel industry to being bigger than any other company, Carnegie provided jobs and built foundations off his industry. Doing this Carnegie believed in Social Darwinism and felt that the working class was meant to stay poor. Underpaying his workers and favoring against Labor Unions didn't make him popular to the Lower Classes causing riots and strikes in the industry.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The impact of the automobile in the 1920 's drove America into a frenzy of fresh opportunities. This new era can be credited in part to Henry Ford who mass produced the Model T, and made it an affordable, practical vehicle for any American with a need and want for mobility. The automobile revolutionized almost every part of life including the economy, and where Americans traveled and lived. However, these successes came at a cost. Pollution began to take its toll in major cities, crime rates increased, and as mobility expanded, safety took a plunge.…

    • 1849 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Henry Ford As A Machinist

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Henry Ford was a machinist, He worked both night and day, To give this world a flivver, That has made her shivver, And speeded her on her way, Now he is a billionaire, But his record is fair, He is humanity’s friend. - Henry Ford Henry Ford did not only impact the lives of those back in the 1900s, but as well as the lives of individuals today. He started a revolution that no one else had, or could of. Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 in Detroit, Michigan. He announced in 1914, that his company would “initiate the greatest revolution in the matter of rewards for its workers ever known to the industrial world.”…

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ransom E. Olds invented the assembly line in 1901, in order to keep up with the high demand for horseless carriages, but it was Henry Ford who improved on Ransom’s idea. Henry Ford installed conveyor belts on the assembly line and this improvement allowed him to mass produce automobiles at a rate that was once impossible. As a great inventor and entrepreneur, Henry Ford was able to transform the lives of the common American for the better. He was able to improve the working conditions for factory workers and make sure that the workers wanted to work for him. Although Henry Ford did not invent the assembly line, his perfecting allowed him to change the way that the common Americans lived by giving them inexpensive but reliable automobiles, by…

    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    1920s Cars Essay

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Cars of the 1920s started the age of the automobile which over time became faster, stronger, more fuel efficient and more reliable. Henry Ford plays a major role in the automotive industry in this time period. His model-T was and still is a very popular car. The cars of this time period could not reach very high speeds and the safety of these cars were dangerous. Cars were a new thing during the 1920s and have forever changed transportation and life of the average american.…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This country was built on the concepts of advancement and prosperity. However, it wasn’t built overnight. The America that we know today wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our technological advancements over the decades. The industrial revolution was quite the game-changer for our country. From the 1970s until the mid-1800s it changed the ways we got things done.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By the end of the 1920’s there were almost 23 million registered drivers in the United States (US History, 2016.) This large increase in driving was due to Henry Ford and his Model T. During this decade, Ford worked to create some of the earliest automobiles, as well as, changing the way citizens traveled. People found changes in many aspects of their lives. 1920’s automobiles changed the face of US travel, thanks to Henry Ford. Automobiles were an invention that changed the world for the better in many different ways.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    FIVE DOLLAR DAY Wake up, hope for the best, work nine hour days, and still only make $2.25 per day. People were wrestling the economy, but one day the people woke up, hoping for the best, and continuing the same routine, when the origin of “five dollar day” transpired. On January 5, 1914, it was the rise of Henry Ford, when he announced a change that stunned the world. He revealed that Ford Motor Company was doubling its workers’ wages to five dollars a day. Reducing a workweek from six to five days and shifts from nine hours to eight hours.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    he accomplishments of Henry Ford Henry Ford invented one of the most important part of most peoples lives. Ford was known for his production of the motor vehicles which is now widely produced in the United States, but what he really did was change and encourage the technology in the United States for the rest of his life. His invention of the assembly line, 5 dollar wage, and 5 day work week has changed how jobs are run and managed in the present age. Henry Ford changed the world in industry, the entrepreneur ship, and mass production…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Henry Ford was an American inventor who was born on July 30, 1830. Today, some people credit Ford with being one of America’s most important inventors of all time. Furthermore, he was able to acquire this title by inventing the Ford Model T automobile on October 1, 1908. It was this single creation that changed America forever. Henry Ford’s automobile changed travel in America forever.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    There was no efficient form of mass production of various products until the ingenious invention of the assembly line. This made most products expensive because of the extensive amount of work that people had to put forth into making products. It took workers about half a day of grueling work to create cars before the Model T. Because of this condition, cars were very expensive and most people could not afford one like today. Ransom E. Olds used the assembly line in 1901 to mass produce his “Curved Dash” Oldsmobile. This made it the first commercially successful car that was mass produced using an assembly line.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” This quote is saying working together and staying together as a team pays of. Henry Ford can be understood through him being the founder of the Ford motor company, and his invention of the Model-t. Henry Ford was born in Greenfield Township Michigan on July 30th, 1863. Henry Ford was born and raised on a farm with his mother and father and 8 siblings. His mom's name was Mary Litogot Ford his father's name William ford.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Admired as both a technological mastermind and a widespread idol, Henry Ford opened the door to an undiscovered industry of extraordinary size and wealth. In only a few decades, his innovations permanently transformed the United States. Henry Ford prepared humanity for the steep development of the mechanical world, with particular focus in the automotive business. He transformed the automobile, from a development of unclear utility, into an advancement that significantly formed the twentieth century. Ford revolutionized the auto industry with one single, powerful improvement; the assembly-line.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays