Henry Ford`s Innovations Presentation

Henry Ford’s Innovations

Ford’s Early Life Born Near Detroit, MI in 1863  Attended school until he was 15.  Secretly worked on mechanical projects at night after his chores.  Ran away at 16 to become an apprentice in a Detroit machine shop 

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Picture from www.americaslibrary.gov

You Can Go Home Again 

After years of earning $2.50 per week at one job and $2 per week at another (to make ends meet), Ford returned to his father’s farm and built a one-cylinder tractor.

Moving Back to the City 

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Ford eventually got a job as an engineer and machinist and moved back to Detroit.

Detroit image fromwww.cityyear.org

Ford sells his first car 

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Ford sold his first “gasoline buggy” for $200 in 1896.

Engine image from www.first-to-fly.com

Chief Engineer Ford became chief engineer of an electric company, earning $125 per month.  Ford later quit because he refused to give up working on gasoline cars and focus on electricity. 

Detroit Automobile Company Ford persuades a group of men to help him manufacture his car.  He quits after two years because his backers wanted to produce small quantities at large profits. 

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Ford built a racing car in a one-story brick shed that won every race that it entered.

Image of Barney Oldfield from www.rumbledrome.com

Ford Motor Company Publicity from his racing car helped Ford start the Ford Motor Company.  He received $100,000 in capital.  He and his son became sole owners in 1919. 

Ford Concentrates on One Car 

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Ford concentrated his efforts on developing a single chassis, the Model T

Model T image from www.uh.edu

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“any customer can have a car painted any color he wants, so long as it is black”  Henry Ford

$850 The Model T sold for $850 in 1908.  By 1925, mass production cut the cost to $290. 

Ford Changes the Workday Ford developed mass production techniques.  This made workers’ jobs very monotonous.  In order to fix this, for raised wages to $5 per day, shortened the work week, and shortened the workday from 9 hours to 8 hours. 

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Next image from www.loc.gov

Assembly Line 

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Conveyor belts and the assembly line reduced the amount of time need to produce a Model T from 12.5 hours in 1912 to 1.5 hours in 1914.

Previous image from www.nps.gov

The Logic of Mass Production Ford reasoned that increased production allows manufacturers to reduce costs and increase the # of products sold.  Another big result of this was that higher wages allowed workers to buy more products (the worker as consumer belief) 

Different Models? Other manufacturers such as Albert Sloan (General Motors) worked on producing new models and changing the looks of cars.  Ford finally developed the Model A in 1927. 

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Model A image from www.xyz.net

Vertical Integration Ford bought all his own coal mines, iron mines and forests, railways, and his own lake and ocean steamships.  Buying everything that he needed to produce cars (all aspects of the production process) became known as vertical integration. 

NO Labor Unions 

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Ford remained strongly aligned against labor unions throughout his life.

Labor Union image from www.library.ohiou.edu

B-24’s 

Ford’s plants produced bombers during World War II.

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Ford passed away in 1947 at the age of 83.

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B-24 image from www.collingsfoundation.org

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Information in PowerPoint from: – www.digitalhistory.uh.edu – www.nytimes.com