I am totally confused about your problem with Ford actually owning property. Many American own property. Why does that trouble you? Did he GIVE that property to Muslims? I don’t think he ever encountered a Muslim in his entire life.
How many jobs did Henry Ford create? How much did he change the industrial world as it existed at that time?
Same for Cyrus McCormick & John Deere. Yes, there really was a John Deere-—he was a blacksmith who figured out how to make a better plow. Eli Whitney & the cotton gin....The Wright Bros who went from a bicycle shop to flying an airplane. Catapillar -—Minneapolis Moline tractors—Oliver tractors— International Harvester for many machines. Have you ever been to a large agricultural machinery sales lot? Do you even know how your food arrives ON YOUR TABLE??? Get a grip & find out!!! You might learn something.
The people who were the highlights of the Industrial Revolution in America are to be revered-—certainly not hammered at.
IF you really want to see what I am talking about, go visit Greenfield Village & the Ford Museum in Michigan.
I’m going to respond fully to Ride’s post, but I’ve invited Lizma along for more details.
First off, I don’t appreciate the attitude but I start off most of my posts like that. Rides came out with that “Internet Anonymity” aggression that seems to be what forums are built upon. Back it off dude. If you want answers, don’t start type-yelling at me and telling me to “Get a grip” and “I might learn something” (Which means that you’re actually offended that I might have a different take on things, and should just immediately adapt to your thinking.. or else.)
Henry Ford did all of those things. Donald Trump did all of those things. All of American entrepreneurs really did all of those things. The founders of Google created thousands of high paying jobs in their walls, and millions (literally millions) more jobs have been created around their services. That doesn’t make them good people.
And your first paragraph immediately starts with “my problem that Ford owns property” which is ridiculous.
In a nutshell what Henry Ford DID do is use his power to cast a more influential presence over the area. When I say he owned land, I’m talking about .. like.. the Upper Peninsula.
He wanted workers. To get them at the cheapest rate possible he was one of the first people to bring in droves of them from other countries. Not slavery, necessarily, but he kept his early employment scenarios very hush-hush. Always quick to defend his privacy as “I’m successfully doing what no one else has. Leave me alone.” and sometimes just in the form of massive cash payouts to prominent figures in the media and government. And yes, all of that is documented and is recently being talked about due to a new nature of historical research.
He created the environment for massive influx of workers from foreign lands based on complex relationships with power holders over-seas. He imported his workers from dumpy countries, a lot in the newly burgeoning Middle East and west indian countries. Now these were not Saudi-style lands as we know them - we all know that Saudis only grabbed their real prominence and power through Oil which was a purely American thing at the time. In fact, he dealt mostly with British colonials throughout India.
These people were paid. They learned English and they settled down. And when Jewish bankers attempted the same thing as they did in reconstructionist Germany (Ford’s newly found writings and opinions on Jews mirroring that of Hitler’s Mein Kampf aren’t really secret but they also aren’t quite taught in High School either) He created an environment where local banking, real estate and brokerages were populated specifically with non-jewish people.
He may or may not have been able to predict the rise of this not-really-known Islam in the area, but he certainly put the soup on the stove, turned on the heat and walked away thinking he would come back and see a worker’s utopia. You know, with him at the top, of course.
Now we understand the Ford plant in it’s media presentation at the time, of only about 3 actual plants. Those 3 actual plants were somehow, in a few short years producing the most popular conveyance the world had ever seen. Volkswagen managed to do it, but even they had almost 50 years to do what Ford did in about 10. Same with Toyota and their trucks. They found a world market but it took about 12 years of the same basic design to get even close to what Ford did almost off the cuff.
The business practices of Ford are like examining Dark Matter. You can observe some of it, but there is a huge chunk missing from view as you see that it’s actually everywhere.
Yes, the museums, the books and the newspapers fawned over him but that’s because he was very careful to make sure that they did. There is a saying: “History is written by the victors”. I heard recently a better quote though - “History is written -for- the victors.”
Everything that you have said is correct but you must also look at what I’ve just said. It’s the same thing, only from a different perspective. Try to match up the man’s wealth with the physical product. Try to line up the labor force with the production figures. Read more on how much of a right bastard this guy was and you’ll see the pieces fit together.
Remember, for years many thought that Thomas Edison was one of the greatest men alive until more and more people came to know Nicola Tesla. Perhaps more will know more about Henry Ford when they learn more about Ransom Olds.
These guys were powerful, but they were and are complete a-holes. I’ve met Trump (Although I just shook hands and spent time in the room) and he’s an epic jerkwad. That doesn’t change the fact that he does his job excellently and makes the world a better place - but Ford was one of the most evil guys to operate on US soil.
Again, he had great PR.