Ford Motors Company

Today, Ford is one of the largest car companies in America and currently owns Lincoln,

Mercury, and Volvo cars. It is the F on the stock market. The Ford Motors Company was

founded by Henry Ford in 1903. The company was based in Michigan where Henry Ford grew

up in. The Ford Motors Company was one of the few companies who were able to survive the

Great Depression at that time. The company has been owned by the Ford family for nearly one

hundred years. On December 18th, 1999, the Ford Model T was called the “Car of the Century”

according to a group of 133 automotive journalists and professionals.

I first got interested in Ford after my brother told me how the Ford brought down the economy in

the Great Depression. At that time, I had no idea what went in the Great Depression. When I

started reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, one of the characters described how immigrants

during the Great Depression did not like Henry Ford. With this, I came up with a question, “How

has Ford affected history?” After research and time, I learned many things about how the

company has done helpful or bad things.

The result of a large car company was that there needed more gas stations and roads.

Henry Ford actually brought the idea of assembly lines. Today, assembly lines are used in

various factories and work to help speed up the process. The idea of the assembly lines that

Henry Ford brought was called Fordism. The company has was also one of the first companies to

make FFV- Flexible Fuel. This meant that they were able to combine different kinds of fuel that

would still be able to run. I think these things that Ford has done is helpful because they

advanced life that made it livable.

 During the Great Depression, the Ford Motors Companies was a large company which

gave lots of job opportunities. Henry Ford started the $5 a Day revolution which paid workers

five dollars a day basically. In the Great Depression, Desdemona from Middlesex, who lived

during the Great Depression, explained how many people at the time were angry at Mr. Ford

because he was laying off workers. When Henry Ford laid off workers, the unemployment rate in

Detroit, Michigan rose up to nearly 30%.

During the Great War (World War I), the Ford Model T was used as one of the main

vehicles for the Allied Military Forces. Imagine how much faster transportation was thanks to

the Model T. Did you know that Ford actually helped NASA get the first man to the Moon?

According to the Ford Milestones, “Ford-Philco engineers unveiled the sophisticated system that

became known as "Mission Control" in 1965.”

The Ford Company has actually helped cars become more available to common people.

Without Henry Ford, we might not have cars parked in the parking lot right now. Back then, cars

were considered luxuries. Thanks to models such as the Model T, cars have been available to

wide ranges of people. The Ford Motor Company’s Motion Picture Department also developed

motion films. Some of the films that were made were some of people’s first motion pictures in

their life.

As you can see, Ford has helped our history evolve. The company has done various

accomplishments that have advanced our world. Although some might consider some of the
things unhelpful and some might argue that all the things done by the company were helpful,

Ford has impacted us in a way that is unforgettable. This research that I have done on Ford has

changed my initial thought on Ford. It also helped me understand more on World War I, so it is

helping me read further on than my Social Studies class. Has this changed your view on Ford?
Bibliography

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