L'importance et la signification d'Henry Ford (document en anglais)

Henry Ford: Importance and Significance

Economics

November 9th, 2013

The Importance and Significance of Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American engineer and innovator born in Michigan in 1863. Always passionate about machinery, he was bound to find success during a time of industrial development. Although not the inventor of the automobile, he is given credit for perfecting the machine that has revolutionized an era. To this day, his inventions and innovations, most notably the moving assembly line, are being used and will most probably be used for many decades to come.

Henry Ford was born on July 30th, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. The son of a farmer, Ford was raised on a farm, but was never interested in following in his father’s footsteps. Even as a child, Ford was passionate about machines and spent his time fixing watches or directing his friends to build steam engines. Sure enough, he chased his passion and became an apprentice at the Michigan Motor Company. After a few years, he finally decided to put his skills to practice and open his own motor business. Despite the first two failures, Ford was determined to make his dream a reality, and eventually he did. His third and only successful business was the Ford Motor Company, which paved the way to his imminent success.

Contrary to popular belief, Henry Ford is not the inventor of the automobile. He is also not the inventor of the moving assembly line. He is the one who knew how to create a way to unite the two to design a revolutionary way to mass produce an extremely useful machine but due to its expensive and lengthy production process, was targeted towards a very select few. By using the moving assembly line, he was able to shorten the car’s production process and therefore produce many more finished cars than a traditional car making process would. After successfully establishing the Ford Motor Company, Ford set out to work on many models that sold well throughout the country, most notably the models A and N. however, the most famous and recognized model that caused his true rise to success was the Model T, that most people know of today.

Ford’s ground-breaking innovation of a mass car-producing method impacted many aspects of life in the 20th century. First, the car was made cheaper due to its mass production. Prior to his innovations, cars were exclusive to the rich elite. Cars were produced individually, with many factory workers working on cars one by one. When Ford perfected the moving assembly line, cars went from being made one by one to ninety three per minute. Second, his innovations speeded the already rapid development of the Industrial Revolution. Third, due to his growing factories and workforce, he increased by almost doubling the workers’ wage, which back then was unheard of.

Henry Ford has truly left a legacy on the modern world. From a young age, Ford prepared himself to become one of the most influential innovators of his time. His intelligence and talent have transcended time and have shaped the way for the advancement of mass production. His hours of work and the risks he took have influenced and simplified every aspect of our lives.

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