Influence of Henry Ford

Influence of Henry Ford

This is an ad for the price of a Model T in the early 1920's.  Ford believed that in lowering the cost of the car that more people would buy them, and they did.  People could now travel farther distances which allowed them to live elsewhere and commute to the city for work. 

Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry for his workers and for other industries.  The division of labor and assembly line went hand in hand.  Each worker had a specific part of the car they were responsible for making and putting on the car.  This allowed for more cars to be made due to the quickness of the conveyor belt speeding up the make of the car.  The more cars that were made the better the steel, oil,  and rubber industries benefited.  The cars were made of steel and rubber for parts and ran on oil. 

Ford's workers were among the highest paid industrial workers of the twenties.  His workers were paid $5.00 a day and their work days were shortened from nine hours to eight.  However, Ford expected a huge effort from his workers for what they were getting.

Ford was the first automotive company of the 1920's to allow disabled veterans from World War I work in the industry.  He adapted work areas to their specific disabilities.  Ford also had the most African American workers in the industry.


For a video of Henry Ford's assembly line go to:

http://www.history.com/videos/this-month-in-smart-history-the-assembly-line#this-month-in-smart-history-the-assembly-line