Henry Ford

http://www.history.com/s3static/video-thumbnails/A (History channel )

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business". - Henry Ford. Henry Ford was a man who thought more of a business than then just making money, he thought about helping others. Back in the early 1900s, businessmen were poorly portrayed as greedy, selfish people who that only cared about profits. Henry Ford changed that when he both doubled his workers' wages and also made the automobile affordable to the middle class.

Henry Ford was able to make a lasting impact on the world not by sitting down and being content with fixing steam engines for a living, he had a dream to make the automobile a thing not for just the wealthy, but for the common man. Henry Ford was brave because he was able to challenge the car manufacturing industry by making his model T affordable to everyone. And raising his workers' wages by 100%. Ford raised the daily wage of his laborers from $2.35 to $5. While the success of the Model T gained Ford some renown as a successful inventor and industrialist, the "$5 day," as it became known (Source:"Henry Ford." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.) Ford was brave enough to double all of his workers' pay while all the other companies still paid minimum wage. Even when the Dodge Brothers filed a lawsuit on why he was using their ideas illegally to promote his company against them he was able to beat it back. Although most business men got their companies going with one try, Ford had to take 3 attempts go get business up and running. In 1899, at age thirty-eight, Ford quit the power company and, with some partners, founded his first automobile manufacturing enterprise. While this attempt failed, as did a second, his third try, Ford Motor Company, founded in 1903, grew into one of the largest, wealthiest companies of the century. (Cornell, Thomas. "Henry Ford." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Biography in Context. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.) This shows that Ford was able to not give up on his dream to be a car manufacturer and to make multiple attempts at his dream where most people would have given up. Even at the old age of 38 (life expectancy was shorter then) Ford was able to start 3 companies and end 2 of them. As well as run his third and most successful one, Ford Motor Company until he was on his deathbed.Henry Ford was not a man to give up on his dream and by not doing so he was able to become the great man he is remembered as today.

Henry Fird (http://a1.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fill, (Bio.com))

Even though Ford was brave enough to do things that made an impact on how things were run even today he wasn't able to do it on bravery alone. Born July 30, 1863, in Dearborn, Michigan, he spent his early years doing chores and tinkering with watches and steam engines ("Henry Ford." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.) Even as a child, Ford had the ingenuity and technical know how to fix his relatives equipment. Later on, Ford was even able to build his own steam engine when he was only 9 years old. Even though he had much competition to deal with, he was able to stick with it and make a career out of it and even make his own race car Mass production allowed for an increase in the volume of sales and a decrease in the cost of production, while lower prices-along with employees' higher wages-further broadened the available market. ("Henry Ford's Business Philosophy." American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 2: 1910-1919. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 98-102. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.) This shows that Henry Ford had the idea to turn the production line (the process of making things) into a full scale thing Henry Ford also raised his workers' wages, and in the time on monopolism this was unheard of. In the end Ford was intelligent enough to turn the image of monopoly men from greedy people to caring and loving people.

Ford made his company what it is now today by doing things that many other businessmen of the time would not have done. Henry Ford was a successful businessman and because of his ingenuity and bravery, he was able to make his company the leading car manufacturer and change a nation. Henry Ford inspires me because I've always wanted to major in business and Ford became a good business manager through hard work and an idea to make the expensive, inexpensive, and in doing so. Was able to make the US a major power and benefit the world with fast transportation that could be used anywhere. Henry Ford was a great man and inspired many other car manufacturers to rise up and revolutionize how most products are made with the assembly line. As well as change how America looked at businessmen and the rest of the world on how it saw America. Not only did he make the best car manufacturer that dominated the market in the mid-1900s. But also left a permanent marking on the transportation economy.