Henry Ford
... whole new form of transportation. In 1918 almost half or all the cars in America were Model Ts. To meet this growing demand Ford came up with a plan to make more cars at a more efficient rate. It was in 1913 he used the continues moving assembly line where workers would stand still and add a part to the vehicle as it moved on a conveyer belt. This new assembly cut production time down a lot so that instead of it taking fourteen man hours it only took three to complete a whole new car. This discovery made the automobiles much cheaper to build. The cars could then be sold at much cheaper prices. The assembly line made Ford the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Other business men around the world would come to see this new assembly line that was making Henry Ford a very rich man. He succeeded in his idea of mass production. Along with this new increase of cars Ford also created more gas stations. He also campaigned for better roads and eventually helped lead the way to an interstate highway system all over America. But most important his new manufacturing helped create a middle class in America. These assembly line factories made it possible for people to make enough money to afford the cars they were creating. People flocked to Detroit to work in a place where they could make money and still have time to spend it. Ford also created the $5-a-day minimum wage plan. This new plan almost doubled the average wage for the auto industry, but also saved an hour off the workday. It was significant in those days that a person could get paid so well without a lot of training or education. People didn’t understand that by lowering the cost it took to make the cars it didn’t matter that he raised wages. Plus now more people could afford to buy the cars, which was good for him. By the late 1920s the company was completely self sufficient. Ford controlled rubber plantations, a fleet of ships, a railroad, 16 coal mines, and thousands of acres of timberland and iron mines. Ford also cared about is employees. He was worried that the workers would be able to handle getting five dollars a day and set up a “Sociological Department” so they wouldn’t waste it on alcohol or vice. He also banned smoking because he though that tobacco was unhealthy, which turned out to be true Henry Ford and his business ideas brought a whole new lifestyle to the American people. Now people could not only afford to buy the cars but they had time to enjoy them. People could use these cars to drive to work, the store, anywhere and this brought a lot of new options for recreation. Sunday after church families would go on drives together which they couldn’t do before. This was just a nice way to spend time together. People had extra time since they not only had nine hour work days but got paid well enough to not be constantly struggling to get money. Instead people could do leisure activities like reading books. Now people were socializing more, they were dating more, and also going on vacation more. Automobiles were a great new form of transportation. Now you didn’t have to depend on anyone but yourself to get places. Before, the only way to achieve that was by walking or perhaps biking. You either had to rely on horses, or the schedule of others to get to the places you needed to go. Henry Ford’s invention created many important cultural changes. One of Henry Ford’s faults was he wasn’t able to allow change. He was too set on the way it was. He was quoted saying “You can paint it any color, as long as its black.”, but that it hasn’t really been proven that he said that. But it does reflect how he ended up feeling about the consumer. He started to not care about what the people wanted. He didn’t create a new model until the Model A in 1927. Ford ended up turning on some of his best employees when they suggested new design changes and plans. This stubbornness was a huge fault bec...