Book Review:
Book: Henry Ford: Contributions to Industry and Warfare
Author: John Doe Jr.
Publisher: Penguin
Price: $19.99
Born and raised on a small farm in Michigan, Henry Ford went on to permanently shift the foundation of American industrialism. He left his rural life at the age of sixteen, when he moved to Detroit to pursue a career in mechanics. In his spare time, Ford tried endlessly to create an affordable and practical automobile for the masses. Though initially unsuccessful, Ford's tenacity and innovation eventual won through with the invention of the Model T, a cheap easy to produce car for the masses. With this momentous step forward in automobile history, Ford inadvertently created a technology which would fuel the immanent conflict of WWI.
The Model T sold so well that Ford needed to boost production. This led him to perfect the invention of the assembly line, which had been in use for the past eight years or so. By implementing a conveyer belt system, Ford got the production time for a Model T down to 93 minutes per unit. Soon other production companies began taking their cues from Ford, and when war broke out, his methods of production were adopted by manufacturers around the world.
Ford’s version of the conveyer belt contributed immensely to the “total war” state of the world which characterized WWI. Everywhere factories were being retrofitted to produce vehicles, weapons, ammunition, and every other conceivable form of supplies. This form of production allowed the French to manufacture everything they needed. The assembly line was also the driving force behind U.S. Production, which allowed the States to sell supplies to the allies.
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