How Did Henry Ford Impact Society

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Henry Ford Have you ever thought about what the world would be like if there wasn't cars to take us to and from work or to the many places that we need to be during a day? Without the car, society might still be using horse and buggies for transportation, but one man made an incredible invention that changed the way americans traveled around thier city and countryside. That man was Henry Ford. Ford contributed multiple things to the automobile industry back in the early 1900's. His greatest contribution by far was the Model T car. By developing this vehicle, Ford changed the way that American's traveled since this was an affordable and efficient vehicle. Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 and was the first of William and Mary Ford's…show more content…
The first vehicle made by Henry Ford himself was in 1896 and was called the "Quadricycle."(Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass) This vehicle had four wheels and resembled that of a bicycle, it used a tiller for steering such as a boat would, and had two forward speeds but no reverse gear (Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass). Henry sold this prototype of a car for $200 and then began to watch as the automobile industry started by him began to expand (Ambrose, Steven/Brinkley, Douglass). Once Ford built his own factory, he started to think up a plan to build a car that was both efficient and affordable that most people could have. This car finally emerged from a secret room that he had built in his factory, it was to be called the Model T. For eight hundred and twenty five dollars a customer could purchase a Model T. The Model T was a light 1,200 lbs, had a relatively powerful 20 horsepower engine, and was fairly easy to drive with a two speed foot controlled transmission (Kimes, Beverly). This was a simple sturdy and versatile car that Ford hoped would get the public excited. This car went on sale for the customers on October 1, 1908 (Kimes, Beverly). In the first year this car was for sale it set a new record for most cars sold in a year, over ten thousand (Kimes, Beverly). The Model T became a real hit with customers and by the 1924 the ten millionth Model T left the…show more content…
One very large contribution Ford made to the public was the Model T automobile. This car gave the public an efficient and affordable car which they so very much needed. Another one of his contributions was a new way to assemble cars. The assembly line. This new and improved assembly line required the workers to stay in one spot and put on a part as the vehicle moved past them (Ford Museum). When Ford designed this he engineered conveyor belts that delivered parts to the employee rather than the employee having to go get the part that he needed (Ford Museum). He also made sure that these conveyors were specially timed to deliver the part at the right time and to make sure the process was going smoothly and efficiently (Ford Museum). This introduction of the moving assembly line changed the way that all manufacturers would produce cars. This process significantly reduced assembly time per vehicle which in turn lowered costs. One more great contribution that Henry Ford gave to people was with the opening of his new manufacturing plant, there would be many jobs that would need to be filled and he createde those jobs. The number of men on payroll at his largest plant was 81,000 employees (Ford Museum). The demand for more cars gave these 81,000 people a decent job and a decent wage of 5 dollars a day (Wiley, John). Overall, it is easy to say that Henry Ford really gave back to society
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