Welcome to The American New South (1791-1868)

Travel back in time and experience the untold stories of free industry in the American South from 1791 to 1868. Join us on a journey of inspiration and discovery.

This blog post features "The New South."

23 Mar 2025 09:13

The United States underwent a period of significant evolution between 1865 and 1900. Numerous essential events occurred during this time, including the Second Industrial Revolution, urbanization, immigration, popular entertainment, the relocation of Native Americans, the African Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, shifting gender roles, government corruption, the Gilded Age, the end of Reconstruction, and segregation in the South. James S. Humphrey’s Introduction to a Selected Historiography examines various aspects of Southern history. These aspects encompass the contrasts between labor and class, cultural attitudes, populism, and women's roles in New South society.

Read more »

Blog Post Featuring Henry Ford:

(July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947)

 

Between 1900 and 1920, Henry Ford acquired a wealth of business, economic, and financial expertise. These experiences significantly impacted the growth and development of the United States today. As a consequence of their actions, the global production of automobiles and their ownership became more accessible. Henry Ford's early years are the subject of this analysis, which is designed to create an engaging narrative that concentrates on a few significant events that transpired in 1920.

 

Introduction 

 

Presenting this presentation is a valuable resource that helps disseminate information about historical facts. Artifacts and literary works are two examples of sources that can be included. The fact that research is essential to history is a major benefit. Whether you look at historical objects or conventional textbooks, this statement is true. The partnership that would later become Ford & Malcolmson was established in August of 1902, by Henry Ford and Alexander Malcolmson, a coal trader in Detroit, according to narrators such as Vincent Curcio, also Henry Ford's biographer.  Thomas Henry Ford, who was born in 1863, was the first son of William and Mary Ford to survive to adulthood. Before moving back to Dearborn, he worked as a machinist in Detroit, where he relocated when he was 16. For his anti-Semitic writings that were published in the Dearborn Independent, which would subsequently be renamed The International Jew, Ford was subjected to criticism. After that, in 1938, he submitted his acceptance for the Grand Cross of the German Eagle. For a brief period, Henry Ford served as the president of Ford Motor Company. In 1945, he handed over the office to his grandson, Henry Ford II.  According to what I discovered, methodological techniques can be utilized to conduct studies on subjects that assist individuals of all ages in gaining knowledge from academic sources. Between 1900 and 1920, Henry Ford acquired a wealth of business, economic, and financial expertise. These experiences significantly impacted the growth and development of the United States today. Due to their actions, automobiles' global production and ownership became more accessible. Henry Ford's early years are the subject of this analysis, which is designed to create an engaging narrative that concentrates on a few significant events that transpired in 1920.

 

Ford Production & Labor Innovation

 

Ford's Model T, often called the "Tin Lizzie," achieved commercial success, leading the company to adopt mass production methods, including large factories, standardized components, and a moving assembly line. As a result, production time was significantly reduced, contributing to lower prices. In 1914, Ford set a precedent for other businesses in the industry by increasing the daily wage for employees to $5. This shift brought about a significant transformation in the automotive industry. Due to the immense demand for the Tin Lizzie, the Ford Motor Company was able to manufacture fifty percent of all automobiles in the United States by 1918. In 1920, Henry Ford acquired minority stakeholders and relocated production to Dearborn, Michigan. Ford introduced the Model A in 1927, and by the time it produced 15 million Model Ts, it had become the world's leading carmaker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry Ford was naturally good at mechanics, and he knew how critical standard parts were and how making cars in-house could help keep costs down. 1907, marked the year that he made public his intention to manufacture a motor vehicle for the general populace by utilizing economies of scale and scope. Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars was the initial capital that Ford and Alexander Malcolmson, a coal dealer in Detroit, had. They did this by constructing automobiles with components obtained from other companies and selling them for $850, which resulted in a profit of approximately $50. By 1903, they had exhausted their initial funds and needed more investors. Ford aimed to produce automobiles that had reasonable prices for the general population.

 

Resources

Baldwin, Neil. Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate. 1st ed. New York: Public Affairs, 2001.

Curcio, Vincent. "one: How it all Began." In Henry Ford. United States: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2013.

Karel Williams, Colin Haslam, and John Williams, “Ford Versus ‘Fordism’: ‘The Beginning of Mass Production?”  Work, Employment & Society 6, no. 4 (1992): 520.

Kolko, Gabriel. “Triumph of Conservatism.” New York: Free Press, 1977. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1963172&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Vincent Curcio, Henry Ford (Cary: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2013), 38–39;

Gabriel Kolko, Triumph of Conservatism (New York: Free Press, 1977), 36.

The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania. “Committee on Science and the Arts Case №2878, Report of Sub-Committee investigating the Work of Henry Ford.” December 7, 1927. https://www.fi.edu/case-files/henry-ford.

Worstall, “The Story of Henry Ford’s $5”; Curcio, Henry Ford, 77; “Ford’s Five-Dollar Day” The Henry Ford. Accessed July 20, 2021, Williams, Haslam, and Williams. “Ford Versus ‘Fordism’:” 533.

U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Returns of Net Income for 1924 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1926), 4;

The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, “Committee on Science and the Arts Case №2878, Report of Sub-Committee investigating the Work of Henry Ford.” December 7, 1927, plate III; “1909 Ford Model T Touring Car,” The Henry Ford. Accessed July 20, 2021.