Henry Ford

Model ‘T’ Ford

&

The Cycle of Prosperity

By Mr RJ Hugginswww.SchoolHistory.co.uk

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.

The Model ‘T’ Ford

• The attraction of the Model T Ford was that its price never increased.

• 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 every part was Standardised (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

How would this have helped to cut production costs?

‘A customer can have any colour he likes for his car so long as it's black’

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

Car Industry

Mass productions & Standardisation lead to

increased car sales.

More Standardised parts are needed

More jobs are created in other

industries.

Steel

Glass

Rubber

Leather

More people with jobs means that

they can afford to buy a car!

Jobs in Diners, Motels & Gas

Stations.

More Oil is used.

More roads are built.

The Cycle of

Prosperity!

Car Production & Cycle of Prosperity

• Car production used up 20% of America's steel, 80% of her rubber, 75% of her plate glass and 65% of her leather.

• By the end of the 1920s 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

• In order to get a a grade ‘C’ upwards in exams, you must learn and use the key words & facts.

• These concepts will be awarded as key ‘knowledge.’

• Cycle of Prosperity• Mass Production• Assembly Lines• Unskilled Workers• Standardisation.• Model ‘T’ Ford• Tin Lizzie

Key Words

Exam Question 1

• How reliable is this source to an historian writing about the effects of mass production in the USA in the 1920s?

A small town in Texas, 1925

Exam Question 2

• Does this quote fully explain how the system of mass production worked? Use your own knowledge and the source to explain your answer.

‘A customer can have any colour he likes for his car so long as it's

black’

Mark Scheme

Level Grade Description

1 E Simple undeveloped answer.

2 D Uses or combines information from the sources.

3 C/B Uses sources & own relevant knowledge / concepts.

4 A/A* Balanced answer covering both parts of the question

Question 1Level 3

• Some cars are similar i.e. Standardisation.

• Model T Fords• Cycle of Prosperity –

people can afford to buy cars.

• Only one town. Not enough evidence for the whole of the USA.

• Texas was a rich oil producing state which meant more people could afford to buy cars than other parts of the USA.

For Against

Level 4 = an answer which includes one from each column.

Question 2Level 3

• All the cars are the same colour – black - i.e. Standardisation.

• No mention of Assembly Lines

• No mention of cheap unskilled workers.

For Against

Level 4 = an answer which includes one from each column.

Improving your grades

D

=

==

Answer using relevant Knowledge & concepts.

Relevant knowledge & concepts backing up one side.C

Just uses sources.

A

The End

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