 WHAT DROVE THE MAN BY JANIS D. BRANDES

About 1890  Born in 1863 o In Michigan o On a farm  Thought to be lazy by some  Driven by curiosity of machines  Loved to tinker

 Born July 30, 1863  To William Ford an Irish immigrant and Mary Litogot  On a prosperous farm in Dearborn, Michigan  One of six children  Did not like farm chores, he found them boring  Loved to tinker with things to see how they worked

 His mom, Mary always encouraged him o Once telling him “that disagreeable jobs call for courage, patience and self-control” (Young, 2008, p. 19). These words helped form Henry into the man he became.  He would tinker in his neighbor’s blacksmith shop  sometimes walk ten miles to snoop around in the hardware shop  His mother passed away in 1876 and shortly afterward he had a life changing event: his turning point

 Once on way to Detroit with his father he saw a steam powered car, that started his passion for automobiles  Moved to Detroit in 1879 and had various jobs in the streetcar and as machinist  While working he read magazines about science o Once read about the gasoline engine of a German man named Nikolaus A. Otto (Zuehlke, 2007, p. 13). This and his work fueled his passion for developing a gasoline powered car  Returned to Dearborn to run a neighbor’s steam powered Westinghouse engine, Westinghouse later hired him to repair their engines

 Married Clara Bryant in 1888 and continued to live in Dearborn, Michigan until They then moved to Detroit  Henry went to work for Thomas Edison, so he could learn more about electricity for his gasoline engines o Edison hired him because of his knowledge of engines and to run his generators  Henry and Clara had a son in 1893 and named him Edsel  Clara supported Henry in his work even letting him work on his engine in the kitchen  In 1903, he founded the Ford Motor Company with backing from Alexander Malcomson

Model A  Started with Henry, James Couzens and 10 employees  Bought parts from other companies  First car made the Model A-sold for $850  Their top speed was 30 miles an hour

 Battled with the ALAM (Association of Licensed Automobile Manufactures) during the early 1900’s Henry won ALAM disbanded in 1911  In 1910, Henry Ford built a bigger factory o There they began making the Model T it took them 12 ½ hours to build one  Always looking for better and easier ways to do things o They began making their own parts o And started using the assembly line  By 1913 they had cut production time to 1 ½ hours a car

1919  In 1918, Henry run for Senator but he lost that race  From 1937 to 1937 the Ford Motor Company had labor union problems, until he decided to allow unions in his factories  In 1940, Henry converted one of his automobile factories to produce war planes for WWII  Henry’s son Edsel died in 1943  Henry Ford died April 7, 1947

 Henry Ford was a tinkerer  Even as a child, he took things apart to see how the worked  He always looked for an easier way to do things  And even though he did not invent the car or the assembly line, he took them to a new level  Henry Ford: a man of peace and war, of science and technology, a husband and father  Thank You o Questions

 Joseph, P. (1997) Henry Ford, Abdo and Daughters, Edina, Minnesota  Young, J. C. (2008) Henry Ford Genius Behind the Affordable Car, Enslow Publishers, U.S.A.  Zuehlke, J. (2007) Henry Ford, Learner Publications Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota 