Jody's Middle Class Hero

Contrary to American legend, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. What he did invent was the moving assembly line. Before Ford’s invention, factory workers worked in groups to build one car at a time. By installing the moving assembly line in his factory, workers built cars one piece at a time. Each worker was responsible for his specific job. This division of labor produced cars more quickly and efficiently. Ford’s invention of the first automatic conveyor belt enabled his Michigan factory to produce a car every 93 minutes and threw America’s Industrial Revolution into overdrive.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in what is today Dearborn, Michigan. He was the first of William and Mary Ford’s six children. Ford grew up on his parents’ prosperous family farm and enjoyed the typical childhood of rural nineteenth century. He spent his days in a one-room school and doing farm chores. At an early age, however, he showed a dislike for farm work and a keen interest in mechanical things. At the age of 16, Ford left home and walked eight miles to work his first job as an apprentice machinist in the nearby city of Detroit. He apprenticed for three years and returned home to the family farm in Dearborn. He spent the next few years dividing his time between operating and repairing steam engines in Detroit and overhauling his father’s farm machinery. In 1888, Henry Ford married Clara Bryant, supporting his new family by running a sawmill.

In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. He made a conscious decision to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. He was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893. Since childhood, Henry had been a tinkerer. He would pick up loose scraps of metal and wire and turn them into machines. The promotion to Chief Engineer allowed him the time and money to devote himself to his own personal experiments on internal combustion machines. In 1896 he completed his own self-propelled vehicle- the Quadracycle. The Quadracycle had four wire wheels similar to bicycle wheels and was steered with a tiller like a boat. It had two forward speeds and no reverse.

While working as Chief Engineer at Detroit’s Edison Illuminating Company, Henry had a chance meeting with his childhood inspiration, Thomas Edison. Edison supported Ford’s pursuit of building an efficient, gas-powered car. The two became friends and business partners. After two unsuccessful attempts at building a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company incorporated in 1903. Henry Ford was Vice-President and Chief Engineer. The company produced just a few cars a day at the factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from parts made to order by other companies. Ford’s introduction of the Model T in 1908 initiated a new era in personal transportation. His dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient was realized. At the time there were 50 start-up companies a year trying to get into the automobile business. Ford’s backers insisted that the best way to maximize profits was to build cars for the rich. But Ford thought that the men who built the cars ought to be able to afford a car themselves. Instead of listening to his backers, he bought them out. When Ford’s black Model T rolled out it was hailed as America’s Everyman Car. By 1918, half of all the cars in America were Model Ts.

To keep up with demand for the Model T, the company built the world’s largest industrial complex along the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan. The massive Rouge Plant had all the elements needed for auto manufacturing: a steel mill, glass factory, and auto assembly line. Iron ore and coal were brought in on the Great Lakes by steamers and on land by railroad. Forges and mills transformed the steel into springs, axles, and car bodies. Foundries built the engine blocks and cylinder heads. By September 1927, all steps in the process from raw materials to final product took place at the huge factory, characterizing Ford’s idea of mass production.

But what really mattered to Henry Ford was mass consumption. He figured if he paid his workers a real living wage and produced more cars in less time for less money, then everyone could own a car. Ford shocked the world with what stands today as his greatest contribution: the $5-a-day minimum wage scheme. At the time the average wage in the auto industry was $2.34 for a nine- hour shift. Ford not only doubled that, he also shaved an hour off the workday. The Wall Street Journal called the plan “an economic crime”. Critics scornfully called it “Fordism”. But as the daily wage increased later to $10, it proved critical to Ford’s goal of making the automobile accessible to all. His critics didn’t comprehend the idea that because Ford had lowered his costs per car, the higher wages didn’t matter- except for making it easier for more people to buy cars.

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”- Henry Ford