Henry Ford Essay

Submitted By trevorb72492
Words: 1651
Pages: 7
Open Document
Have you ever been driving somewhere and thought to yourself, “I wonder how long it would’ve taken me to walk here… Thank god for cars.” As humans, you take things for granted. It’s perfectly natural to forget what life would be like without something, when you’re so used to having it. Cars are definitely one of the things that people take for most granted. They’re something that we simply wouldn’t have today if it weren’t for Henry Ford. A common misconception is that Henry Ford created the first ever automobile, but actually Karl Friedrich Benz invented the first true automobile in 1885. Henry Ford was the one who truly made the automobile business take off with the creation of Ford Motors with his creation of the first affordable car.
Henry Ford’s childhood was fairly normal. He was the first of six children, brought up on a family farm in Dearborn, Michigan after he was born July 30, 1863. Henry’s father encouraged Henry to grow up to own and operate that farm with a family of his own one day, given that it was usually the custom. Ford however, showed different interests as a child than farming that his father was none too happy about. He actually got his friends and other boys together to build and operate rudimentary water wheels and steam engines, almost like the assembly line concept method that we would live by in later years to come. Not only that, but one of his favorite things to do was to tinker with watches. He would take them apart simply to put them together again.
He loved seeing how things worked. He was so good with watches in fact, that other boys from nearby would bring him theirs to fix. Ford’s true passion was machines, which is why at seventeen, he left the farm for an apprenticeship in Detroit.
1882 was a big year for Henry. He met his future wife Clara Bryant and finished up his apprenticeship, earning the title of a full- fledged machinist. During the summers, Henry would work for Westinghouse, operating their steam engines. In the winter, he would reside back at home, working hard on his own projects and helping keep up the farm. Clara Bryant became Mrs. Clara Ford in 1988 when Ford asked her to marry him. As a wedding gift to Henry, even regardless of the strained relationship between he and his father, his father gave him a large piece of land on which Henry and Clara built a house, a sawmill, and a personal workshop. It was only three years after that however, that Ford and his new wife, left the farm life behind to move back to Detroit so that Ford could have more opportunities to pursue what he loved.
So that he could learn more about electricity and how it worked, he got a job at Edison Illuminating Company. In between shifts at the company, Ford was working on his own project, a gasoline engine, actually ignited by electricity. This was a huge deal because this wasn’t too common, especially built by a single man with not as many resources as other inventors and innovators had. It was June 4, 1896 that Ford completed his first successful carriage that needn’t be pulled by horses. He named his contraption, “the quadricycle.” Ford’s quadricycle began to develop its own success when people actually began buying it. Although its looks give off the impression of cheap and unsteady materials when compared to later automobiles, at the time this was not a passing thought. The majority of buyers of this vehicle were wealthier people. They thought of these machines as toys. It was after this that Ford decided on making even better automobiles to sell to the public.
Before finally succeeding in finding a worthy investor, Ford had to go through a couple that didn’t necessarily work out. They wanted to make a car for rich people, whereas from the beginning, Ford’s goal was to make a car for the common man. Ford only succeeded in finding a good investor once he began building and racing his own cars on the track. It was truly the publicity from him winning, which got him his first break.
Show More

Related Documents: Henry Ford Essay

Henry Ford Women

Julia Lopez 04187997 LA127 OL2: Topic in World Art Professor Candace Huey 21 May 2016 Realism in the Representation of Sexuality and the Female Form: An Analysis of Frida Kahlo’s Henry Ford Hospital and Edouard Manet’s Olympia Though created in very different periods and across the globe from one another, Henry Ford Hospital, painted by Frida Kahlo in 1932, and Olympia, painted by Edouard Manet in 1865, present viewers with vulnerably confronting representations of the nude female figure in relation…

Words 1687 - Pages 7

Henry Ford Essay

Henry Ford: Beyond Industrialism Henry Ford is accredited for producing an affordable car, paying high wages to his employees, and creating a middle class in America. However, there were many facets to the famous industrialist that we know as Henry Ford. He was involved in creating companies that made everything from airplanes to charcoal, but more importantly, he was ahead of his time in promoting equality and education for minorities while his prejudice against a certain group…

Words 1305 - Pages 6

Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company Essay

IB123 3) THE DATE OF SUBMISSION: 19th January, 2014 4) THE WORD COUNT: 2033 words Introduction Henry Ford is an American automobile engineer and entrepreneur, who is also the founder of Ford Motor Company. In 1908, Ford led its Ford Motor Company to produce the world’s first car which belonged to the ordinary people--T car. Since then, the world’s automotive industry revolution began. Henry Ford also induced its management theory and style to change the traditional management style. He is also…

Words 2118 - Pages 9

Henry Ford And The Ford Motor Company (1890)

Henry Ford was the first surviving child of his parents William and Mary Ford. He was raised on his family’s farm in Dearborn, Michigan. At the age of sixteen, he left the family farm and traveled to Detroit, where he studied under a machinist as an apprentice. After three years, he returned to the farm but while in Dearborn he continued to work on steam engines. In 1888, he married Clara Bryant, in the first years of their marriage he ran a sawmill. In 1891, he was hired by “Edison Illuminating…

Words 239 - Pages 1

Henry Ford Research Paper

Henry Ford Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan to the William and Mary Litogot Ford. He spent his childhood on a farm that his father owned (Henry Ford). Little did Ford know that he was going to become one of the biggest industrialists in the United States of America. Henry lived on his father’s farm for about 16 years and during that time he learned how to do many things. One thing he learned how to do was tinker with stuff. He would be happy to mess with anything…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Was Henry Ford As A Machinist

Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan. He had four siblings including 2 sisters (Jane & Margaret Ford) and 2 brothers(William Jr. & Robert Ford). As Henry grew up on a farm in Michigan he did not like to be on the farm let alone working on it. As in 1879 he would decide to leave home and go look for work. First he was hired as a machinist, but in 1882 he would return home to work on the farm.After he would be hired to operate at the Westlingshouse. While working Henry would…

Words 263 - Pages 2

Henry Ford Research Paper

Henry Ford was born in 1963 on a farm near Dearborn, MI. and as a child Henry Ford worked on his father’s farm. Henry never enjoyed life on the farm, what he enjoyed was who he lived on the farm with. During his childhood there were two incidences that changed his life forever; first was a watch that his father had given him at his 12th birthday, the second was seeing a horseless farming machine. These two incidences sparked Henry’s interest in machinery. At 13 Henry had learned to take apart and…

Words 1721 - Pages 7

Henry Ford Research Paper

Created and led by Henry Ford in 1903, Ford has become one the biggest automotive companies in the world. All from the beginning of 1903 until today, they have been widely known for their innovation, reliable cars and futuristic design. But let´s back up a little, because already in 1896 Henry Ford builds his first vehicle. It rode on four bicycle wheels and was powered by a four horsepower engine. There was no steering wheel; instead there was a tiller. 5 years later Ford defeats the top racecar…

Words 299 - Pages 2

Henry Ford Argumentative Essay

possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.”This is a quote said by famous industrialist Henry Ford. This quote shows that he believed that you can't make money by exploiting your workers and paying an making products only the upper class can use. Henry Ford created many things that has helped the world become industrialized. So, for these reasons Henry Ford is honored with a lifetime achievement award. Firstly, Someone who help families be together and stay out of poverty…

Words 712 - Pages 3

Ford: Ford Motor Company and Founders Henry Ford Essay example

FORD MOTOR COMPANY Table of Contents Ford Motor Company had a very rough beginning. One of the company’s founders Henry Ford started the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899. That company did not do so well and in 1901 the company was reorganized as the Henry Ford Company. Henry Ford then had a falling out with his financial backers and decided to leave with the name and 900 dollars. On June 16,1903 Ford Motor Company was Incorporated, with 12 investors owning a total of 1000 shares. Henry…

Words 478 - Pages 2