Henry Ford Model T Ford The Cycle of

Henry Ford Model ‘T’ Ford & The Cycle of Prosperity

The Model ‘T’ Ford • Henry Ford set out to build a car which everyone could afford to buy. • It was slow, ugly and difficult to drive, and was nick named the ‘Tin Lizzie’ by the American people. • Model T was produced from Sept. 1908 – Oct. 1927

The Model ‘T’ Ford • The attraction of the Model T Ford was that its price never increased. • Top speeds of 45 kph. • Costing $1200 in 1909, the price in 1928 was only $295. • By 1929 Ford was producing more than one car per minute

Mass Production • Ford was able to sell cars cheaply because they were mass-produced and they used interchangeable parts (only one colour and one engine size were available). • By producing large numbers of cars on an Assembly Line Ford needed fewer skilled workers, and that cut the cost of paying wages.

Mass Production Ford invented the idea of using an Assembly Line to speed up production.

Key Quote – Henry Ford ‘A customer can have any colour he likes for his car so long as it's black’ How would this have helped to cut production costs?

Touring Ad circa 1912

Assembly Lines ‘… each man and each machine do only one thing. . . the thing is to keep everything in motion and take the work to the man not the man to the work’ Henry Ford 1925

Ford’s Assembly Line

Model T Production by 1911

Autocamping! By the 1920’s, President Roosevelt was encouraging Americans to get out and see their country. The automobile allowed people to travel easier and farther than with horses. Vacationing and camping became a renewed trend.

Car Industry More jobs are created in other industries. Steel Glass More Standardised parts are needed The Cycle of Prosperity! Jobs in Diners, Motels & Gas Stations. More Oil is used. Rubber Leather Mass productions & Standardization lead to increased car sales. More people with jobs means that they can afford to buy a car! More roads are built.

Car Production & Cycle of Prosperity • Car production used up 20% of America's steel, 80% of its rubber, 75% of its plate glass and 65% of its leather. • By the end of the 1920 s American cars used seven billion gallons of petrol a year. • This helped to create jobs in the oil industry and made the oil state of Texas rich.

Aerial view of the Rouge plant in 1930 In 1929, there were 81, 000 men working in this one factory

Summary Key Words • • Cycle of Prosperity Mass Production Assembly Lines Unskilled Workers Interchangeable parts. Model ‘T’ Ford Tin Lizzie

Question 1 A small town in Texas, 1925 • How reliable is this source to a historian writing about the effects of mass production in the USA in the 1920 s?

Question 2 ‘A customer can have any colour he likes for his car so long as it's black’ • Does this quote fully explain how the system of mass production worked? Use your own knowledge and the source to explain your answer.