Automobiles is a series that chronicles America's love affair with the car. The story of the manufacture and development of the automobile and its social and cultural impact is one of the principal historical narratives of the twentieth century. Each episode of Automobiles presents a different vehicle and the historical story and impact of that vehicle. Automobiles would be useful for classes on American History, The History of Science and Technology, Cultural History and Economics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

The Model T

The Model T is the story of Henry Ford and the mass manufacturing and marketing of the automobile. It begins with Henry Ford's vision to make an affordable car for the "everyman" and chronicles the rise of Ford and his company to the largest automobile manufacturer in the early twentieth century. It also examines Ford's impact on industrial and labor relations, focusing on Ford's pioneering manufacturing process that changed the method of mass production with the introduction of the assembly line.

Vocabulary

• temperamental
• cantankerous
• apprentice
• reproach
• complacent
• colleagues
• inauspicious
• innovative
• fiasco
• annals
• litigation
• sequentially
• synchronized
• pacifist
• unprecedented
• erratic
• adulation
• advocated

Discussion Questions

1. Henry Ford was born and raised on a farm in 19th century mid-west America. How did this background influence Henry Ford and his dream to manufacture automobiles?
2. In order to learn more about machines and technology, Henry Ford worked for Thomas Edison. What role did Thomas Edison play in the development of the Ford Motor Company?
3. Henry Ford was an American pioneer. His vision and development of mass produced, affordable cars changed the landscape of America. What other pioneers are there in American technology? Are there any pioneers today? In which fields?
4. How did Henry Ford revolutionize the American workplace?
5. Henry Ford offered wages of $5.00 a day to his workers, a princely sum for the time. But there were strings attached to his generosity. How did Henry Ford attempt (and succeed) to control his workers? Did he have the right to influence the private lives of his workers?
6. While Henry Ford was an American icon and hero, he was also an anti-Semite. How did Ford's anti-Semitism influence his world views? What means did Ford use to spread his anti-Semitism?
7. What is the legacy of Henry Ford in the American workplace and in American culture?

Extended Activities

1. Create a timeline that chronicles the development of the automobile in America.
2. Create a poster that depicts your favorite automobile. What is it about the car you chose that you like so much?
3. Like most members of the human race, Henry Ford had his good side and his bad side. In class, debate which "side" of Ford had the most impact.