Tipperary ETB Adult Learning Scheme
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and is credited with contributing to the creation of a middle class in American society. He was one of the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the mass production of affordable cars.
This achievement not only revolutionized industrial production in the United States and the rest of the world, but also had such tremendous influence over modern culture that many social theorists identify this phase of economic and social history as "Fordism."
Ford was born on a farm in Springwells Township (now in the city of Dearborn, Michigan) owned by his parents, William and Mary Ford, immigrants from County Cork, Ireland. He was the eldest of six children. As a child, Henry was passionate about mechanics, preferring to tinker in his father's shop over doing farm chores. At 13, he saw a self-propelled vehicle, a steam powered thresher, for the first time.
This achievement not only revolutionized industrial production in the United States and the rest of the world, but also had such tremendous influence over modern culture that many social theorists identify this phase of economic and social history as "Fordism."
Ford was born on a farm in Springwells Township (now in the city of Dearborn, Michigan) owned by his parents, William and Mary Ford, immigrants from County Cork, Ireland. He was the eldest of six children. As a child, Henry was passionate about mechanics, preferring to tinker in his father's shop over doing farm chores. At 13, he saw a self-propelled vehicle, a steam powered thresher, for the first time.
In 1879, he left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist, first with James F. Flower & Co., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm and became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. This led to his being hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines.
Upon his marriage to Clara Bryant in 1888 Ford supported himself by farming and running a sawmill.
In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and after his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Quadricycle, which he test-drove on June 4 of that year.
Upon his marriage to Clara Bryant in 1888 Ford supported himself by farming and running a sawmill.
In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and after his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Quadricycle, which he test-drove on June 4 of that year.
Ford Motor Company
Henry Ford, with eleven other investors and $28,000 in capital, incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
In 1908, the Ford company released the Model T.
Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production
By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. The design, fervently promoted and defended by Henry Ford, would continue through 1927 (well after its popularity had faded), with a final total production of fifteen million vehicles. This was a record which would stand for the next 45 years. Ford said, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black."
Henry Ford, with eleven other investors and $28,000 in capital, incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
In 1908, the Ford company released the Model T.
Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production
By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. The design, fervently promoted and defended by Henry Ford, would continue through 1927 (well after its popularity had faded), with a final total production of fifteen million vehicles. This was a record which would stand for the next 45 years. Ford said, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black."
Ford's labor philosophy
Henry Ford had very specific thoughts on relations with his employees. On January 5, 1914 Ford announced his five-dollar a day program. The program called for a reduction in length of the workday from 9 to 8 hours and a raise in minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers.
Ford labeled the increased compensation as profit sharing rather than wages. The wage was offered to men over the age of 22, who had worked at the company for 6 months or more, and, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford approved.
In 1926, Ford instituted the five-day, forty-hour work-week, effectively inventing the modern weekend. In granting workers an extra day off, Ford ensured leisure time for the working class. The "short week," as Ford called it in a contemporary interview, was required so that the country could "absorb its production and stay prosperous."
Henry Ford had very specific thoughts on relations with his employees. On January 5, 1914 Ford announced his five-dollar a day program. The program called for a reduction in length of the workday from 9 to 8 hours and a raise in minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers.
Ford labeled the increased compensation as profit sharing rather than wages. The wage was offered to men over the age of 22, who had worked at the company for 6 months or more, and, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford approved.
In 1926, Ford instituted the five-day, forty-hour work-week, effectively inventing the modern weekend. In granting workers an extra day off, Ford ensured leisure time for the working class. The "short week," as Ford called it in a contemporary interview, was required so that the country could "absorb its production and stay prosperous."
The Ford Foundation
Henry Ford, with his son Edsel, founded the Ford Foundation in 1936 as a organization to promote human welfare. The Foundation has grown immensely and, by 1950, had become national and international in scope.
The foundation no longer has any association with the Ford Motor Company, nor with the family or descendants of Henry Ford.
The final days
Ford suffered a stroke in 1938, after which he turned over the running of his company to Edsel. Edsel's 1943 death brought Henry Ford out of retirement. In ill health, he ceded the presidency to his grandson Henry Ford II on September 21, 1945, and went into retirement. He died in 1947 of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 83 in Fair Lane, his Dearborn estate, and is buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.
Henry Ford, with his son Edsel, founded the Ford Foundation in 1936 as a organization to promote human welfare. The Foundation has grown immensely and, by 1950, had become national and international in scope.
The foundation no longer has any association with the Ford Motor Company, nor with the family or descendants of Henry Ford.
The final days
Ford suffered a stroke in 1938, after which he turned over the running of his company to Edsel. Edsel's 1943 death brought Henry Ford out of retirement. In ill health, he ceded the presidency to his grandson Henry Ford II on September 21, 1945, and went into retirement. He died in 1947 of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 83 in Fair Lane, his Dearborn estate, and is buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.