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The Birth of Henry Ford
Henry Ford was born on July 30,1863 on a small farm close to Dearborn, Michigan. He had two parents named William and Mary who loved and cared for him and his siblings (Untermeyer 321). They all worked together on the farm. Unfortunately for Henry, he was the most productive on the farm, so his dad kept him working there for the longest (Untermeyer 323). This is significant because Ford became so sick of the farm that he grew up to chase his own dreams of one day assembling an automobile. -
The KKK Was Founded
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865. The KKK were a secret hate group who aimed at getting rid of black rights in the southern United States (Dictionary.com Editors). They were horrible human beings who wore all white uniforms and protested by burning crosses. They caused a huge problem in the late 1800's when people started to join them and worship their terrible beliefs. -
Mendeleev Classifies The Elements
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian inventor who created the Periodic Table. A Periodic table was a way to separate the elements into different groups. There are eighteen different numbered groups. Out of those eighteen numbered groups, seven of them are named. Those seven are named the alkali metals, the alkaline earth metals, coinage metals, pnictogens, chalcogens, halogens, and noble gases (Winter 1). This is important because we still classify elements the same exact way today. -
U.S Constitution Amended
In the year of 1870, African Americans were given the right to vote. This change was known as the fifteenth amendment, or the fifteenth change to the constitution. This changed America in the sense that this was the first involvement of African Americans in our culture. They now felt accepted and that everyone was equal. This also cut down on racism in the united states (History.com Editors). -
Henry Ford's Childhood
Henry Ford's childhood was very uneventful and repetitive. He was forced by his dad everyday before and after school to work on his family's farm. At these early stages in his life, Henry Ford did not like the land, and was always bored of things like horses, and cattle. It was said that the farm was to slow for him (Untermeyer 322). This is when Henry Ford figured out technology fascinated him deeply. -
Getting Into Technology
Henry Ford was so sick of the farm that he ignored his fathers commands and got into technology. At fifteen years old, Ford reassembled his dads watch and fixed it for him without any help or research. Then, at the same age, he was said to have drawn a tractor without ever seeing one before (Untermeyer 322). His dad decided to now let him go into technology and chase his dreams. The future of Henry Ford was extremely bright. -
Henry Ford's First Job
At sixteen years old, Henry Ford was hired as an apprentice in a machine job. He enjoyed working in the technology field but was unable to make enough money to support his family (Crabb 86). Therefore his Dad brought him back home to work on the farm. Ford felt disappointed in himself and was determined to get another job as quickly as possible (Crabb 87). This made it so he would work much harder to succeed next time he got an opportunity like this. -
Another Unsuccessful Attempt
Just two years later, Ford was lucky to be hired as a worker in an engine shop. This did not last long though, as his dad was still unhappy with the money his son was making. Henry Ford was sent back to the farm for eight more years. During this time, he was able to get married. His career looked like it was no longer going to further in technology. He was discouraged and felt he was never given a fair chance (Crabb 89). This drove him to persevere and work even harder than last time. -
The President Is Assassinated
James Garfield in 1881 was assassinated. He was murdered by Charles Guiteau. James Garfield was the second of four United States Presidents to be assassinated. Nobody was expecting the leader of our country to be killed while in office and in such a brutal way. This event was significant because Vice President Chester Arthur was forced to now lead the United States. -
The Start of Assembling Cars
At twenty six he was given yet another job opportunity at the Detroit Automobile Club. This was where Henry Ford's success started to rise. He began assembling his first automobile in his spare time. This was a horseless carriage with a combustion engine (Harris 27). His dad approved that he could put this car on the market and try to sell it. The problem was nobody was going to find out about it if there was no way to spread the word. Henry Ford had to find a way to advertise, and he did. -
The Marketing of The Model T
To advertise his automobiles, Henry Ford built a race car in his spare time. He entered a race and thought if he won, people would want to buy the car to drive on the road.Luckily enough, he set a world record with the car and it had been heard worldwide. He named this car the Model T. Everyone wanted to buy it from him so he had to figure out a way to mass produce it (Untermeyer 323). -
Mass Production of Model T Cars
Henry Ford managed to mass produce cars using an assembly line. This made it so it could be easier to make more cars and quicker. An example of an assembly line would be if in Massachusetts they assembled the tires, and then they sent it to New York and they made the rims of the tires and it kept going on and on until the car was finished. This was extremely successful and was eventually occurring world wide (Biography.com Editors). The Model T was being sold at a constant rate. -
The First Modern Olympics in Athens
The first modern Olympics occurred in Athens in 1896. It was a summer Olympics where all male athletes competed in forty three different events. Some of those events were cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, and shooting (Britannica.com Editors). This was a significant event because i t was the first time athletes from different countries competed in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. It also showed great sportsmanship between the countries. -
A Lucrative Business
The Model T was now the most famous car in America. The car was so popular because he made it very affordable and he could do that because of how many were being made. It was also known for its smooth driving on roads which Ford did not expect (History.com Editors). Henry Ford made so much money, he was able to make his own business called Ford Motor Company. Here he could afford to be very generous to his workers when giving them there salaries because he was once in there position. -
World War II
World War II took place from 1939 to 1945. A total of sixty million people were killed in this war as the Allied Powers defeated the Axis Powers (Bbc.co.uk editors). This pushed forward the United States into a position as a dominant world power. -
The Death of Henry Ford
Henry Ford died April 7, 1947 at the age of eighty three years old in Dearborn, Michigan. His company was still thriving while he was not there. Although he was missed by his co-workers, the company was still selling thousands of Model T's everyday (History.com Editors). This was a significant event because we had lost one of our nations best businessman and creators whose company still lives on today.
