161 lines
9.8 KiB
Plaintext
161 lines
9.8 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Essay on Henry Ford ]
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[ ]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [(The Car Guy) ]
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[x]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [ ]
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[ ]College [ ]Misc [ ]
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Dizzed: 11/94 # of Words:1457 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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Henry Ford: A Life in Brief
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Henry Ford grew up on a small farm near Dearborn, Michigan. As Henry
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grew up, he spent most of his free time tinkering, and finding out exactly
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how things work. A pastime that developed thinking and logic abilities.
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But being a farmer's boy, he had little spare time, for there were always
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chores to be done. By twelve years of age, Henry was doing a man's work on
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the farm and had begun repairing machinery for neighbouring farmers. His
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father pleased when Henry would repair a harness, reset a tool handle, or
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make some hinges for furniture but he was not pleased however, when his son
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repaired things for neighbours, as he often did, without charging them a
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cent. It was one day when Henry saw a steam engine powering a farming
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machine that he dreamed that one day he would build a smaller engine that
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would power a vehicle and do the job that horse's once did.
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Shortly after Henry turned thirteen, his mother died. Henry became
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very discontent with living on the farm but he stayed for another three
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years. When he was sixteen he finished his studies at the district school.
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Against his father's will, Henry moved to Detroit, ten miles away.
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In Detroit, Henry worked eleven hours a day at James Flower &
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Brothers' Machine Shop for only $2.50 a week. As this was not enough to
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pay for board and room, Henry got an evening job at Magill's Jewelry Shop
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for $2 each week, at first only cleaning and winding the shop's large stock
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of clocks. Soon though, he was repairing them also.
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After three years in Detroit, and ceaseless persuasion from his
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father, Henry moved back to the farm at the age of nineteen. Farm work was
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no more appealing than before. Henry did enjoy the birds and the wildlife
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in the country, and he liked operating and repairing a steam threshing
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machine so he stayed. At a dance on New Year's Eve in 1885, Henry met a
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dark-haired young woman, Clara Bryant, who lived only a few miles away. In
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1888 Henry and Clara were married. As a gift, Mr. Ford gave Henry and his
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bride forty acres of wooded land. Henry built a small cottage and they
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lived off the land. Henry's father thought Henry was content and had
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settled down for life, but this was not to be so. All of Henry's spare
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time was still spent on engines. Three years after their marriage, Henry
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saw an internal-combustion gas engine in Detroit. He decided that this is
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the engine that he would have to use on his car. He had to move back to
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Detroit.
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For two years Henry worked nights as a steam engineer for the Edison
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Illuminating Company. He worked every night from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. and
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earned $45 a month. After working hours he experimented on his gas engine.
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His wages barely paid for living expenses and for tools and materials for
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his tinkering. But his wife was cooperative and did not complain but
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rather, encouraged him.
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In November, 1983, a son was born to Henry and Clara, they named him
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Edsel. A few weeks later, just before Christmas, Henry had completed his
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engine. A successful testing of the engine excited Henry and he decided to
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build one with two cylinders. Slightly over two and a half years later,
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Henry had built his first horseless carriage with four bicycle wheels and
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seat. His contraption would not fit out of the workshop so he simply
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knocked out a portion of the wall. The car tested successfully, but was
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very impractical as someone on a bicycle had to ride ahead to warn the
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people with horses as the car startled them.
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Henry quit his very promising job at the Edison Illuminating Company
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on August 15, 1989. He was to head the new Detroit Automobile Company.
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Instead of producing any cars though, Henry spent the money on improving
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his design. The experimental models that he produced cost a great deal of
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money and a little more than a year later, the Detroit Automobile Company
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had failed. To gain supporters, Henry built a racing car. If he could win
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a race, he could get backers and form his own company. Henry did
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successfully win a race in October, 1901 and acquiring backers became no
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longer a problem.
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On November, 1901, the Henry Ford Company was formed. This company
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fared no better than the previous. Ford still wanted to build a low-priced
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car that ordinary people could afford to buy and drive. Ford would not
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sacrifice his standards for the profit. (Much unlike his portrayal in Brave
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New World). Finally in June, 1903, a third company, the Ford Motor
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Company, was incorporated.
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Ford continued working on his "cheap" design. It was ready shortly
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after the new company's formation and orders came in faster than they could
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be filled. Ford, Charles Sorensen and a small group of dedicated engineers
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began working on a "universal car." By October, 1908, the Model-T had been
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constructed. Again orders began coming in faster than they could be
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filled. This presented Ford with his next challenge, to increase the
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production rate of the automobiles. Sorensen and Ford finally came up with
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the assembly line idea. Rather than having the men go to the work, the
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work would come to the man, brought along on pulleys and chains overhead.
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One problem bothered Ford increasingly, however. Assembly- line work
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was monotonous and uninteresting. The Ford factory had a great turnover of
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employees, and too much time was wasted in training new men. The men were
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currently only being paid the minimum wage of $2 a day. Ford decided (much
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to his colleagues' displeasure and protest) that the men would be paid $5
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and that the work day would be shortened to that of an eight-hour day.
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Some people praised him as a great humanitarian. Others denounced Ford as
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a madman, a crackpot, and a villain. One may have considered Ford unjust
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in making his men work on the assembly line, this is not so. Ford had more
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than doubled the wages of his men, shortened their work day, and thereby
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tried to give the employees a share of the profits.
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Ford eventually resigned as president of his company and gave control
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to Edsel. Conflicts rose between Edsel and Henry. All his life, Ford had
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been in charge, calling the shots. Now, even though Edsel was President in
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name, none of the decisions went without Henry's approval. Edsel had
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wanted to produce a new model for several years, and finally Henry
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consented. In December, 1927, the Model A was unveiled to the public.
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Sales soared. This was last real success that Henry Ford saw in his
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company. The great depression was coming, sales dropped, and labour unions
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formed. Originally Ford had "factory police" to monitor the men and keep
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away people related to union, but on June 18, 1941, the men went on strike
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and Henry was handed a union contract. It spelled out the terms on which
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his men would work, and even set the speed of the assembly line. Ford
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refused to sign. Only after his wife threatened to leave him, did Henry
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sign. He did not just sign, he gave them better terms. Henry felt a need
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to dictate. He had always been in control, and this was time was no
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exception. War broke out in December, 1941. Ford's factories were
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converted to plants that constructed war machines. Even in this time, Ford
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kept his love for nature and the old times. Henry constructed a museum.
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He even had his father's old farmhouse rebuilt. It was in 1942 that his
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son Edsel died of cancer. The shock nearly killed old Henry, but rather
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than give up his hold on the Ford Motor Company, he made himself President
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once more. He was old now, and in 1945 he relinquished all responsibility
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to Edsel's son, Harry II. The Ford Company took on new life under young
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Henry, but Ford was not around to see it. In 1947 Henry Ford fell ill and
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took to his bed. On April 27, alone with his wife and one servant, Henry
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died at age eighty-four.
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After his death, a foundation was formed to administer his vast
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fortune. The foundation gave substantial support to various projects in
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the arts, in medicine and in other important areas of American life. Ford
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was a great man who revolutionized our world. Ford put the world on wheels,
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and in so doing, he made it a smaller world.
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Bibliography
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Montgomery, E. Henry Ford: Automotive Pioneer. Illinois: Garrard
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Publishing Company, 1979
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Paradis, A. Henry Ford. New York: Putnam's Sons, 1968
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