Primary Sources
Burcar, Louis. “Auto Slaves”. In Model T: How Henry Ford Built a Legend. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002.
Louis Burcar’s (a Ford employee) poem was published in the book Model T: How Henry Ford Built a Legend in 2002, although it was written when he was working in Henry Ford’s factories. It is unknown who the intended audience of the poem is, but it could just be Burcar’s way of relieving some of his stress from his monotonous work on the assembly line. The poet’s main idea is that the workers in Henry Ford’s factories had a horrible work day that was so hectic and repetitive that it was enough to make someone crazy. He repeats the words maddening and monotony to emphasize how boring and repeating the work was. The information that is not revealed in the poem is that because of these workers doing such boring, monotonous work, the Model T could be produced much more efficiently. This is because it is written from the point of view of a factory worker. This source gives a unique perspective because it critiques the labor that the Ford factory used and gives a different viewpoint on the topic. The source was used to put into perspective how an assembly line worker might feel making the Model T.
Crowther, Samuel and Henry Ford. My Life and Work. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc.
Samuel Crowther and Henry Ford co-wrote an autobiography about Henry Ford’s life in 1922. This autobiography is intended for anyone intrigued by Henry Ford’s life and the success of his company. It discusses many aspects of Ford’s life and company such as his challenges, ideas, and dreams. This source was extremely biased because it was told from Henry Ford’s point of view. At times he would discuss how superior his Model T was to the competition. On other occasions he would blame his problems on others such his former boss when he could have been at fault. This source was very helpful because it provided an invaluable look at Henry Ford’s life through his own eyes. This autobiography was used to compare and validate Henry Ford's actual ideas with those in biographies written by others.
Ford, Henry. 1926. Interview by Samuel Crowther, October. “Why I Favor Five Days Work with Six Days’ Pay.” World’s Work Magazine.
Samuel Crowther was the interviewer when he published his questions and Henry Ford’s responses in October of 1926. Crowther published this interview as an article in a monthly magazine, World’s Work. The article was mainly intended to be read by the average American working man in the early nineteen hundreds, which was a time of revolutionary break troughs in the production industry. The purpose of this document was for Henry Ford to explain why he decided to invoke a five day, forty hour workweek at his factories and keep the same wages, a revolutionary concept at the time. Ford strongly supports his reasoning behind making his decision to change his factories hours, and does not fully acknowledge the downsides. Many primary source quotes were taken from this interview and then used to help further understand the impact of the innovation of Ford’s employees’ working schedule.
Ford Motor Company. American Boy, May and June. 1924. Available at http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This Model T advertisement was featured in American Boy in 1924. It portrays a young man delivering mail in his Model T Runabout stating “For the young business man”. This advertisement is targeted towards young working men looking to purchase their first automobile. This advertisement is meant to promote The Model T Runabout to workers making statements like, “By saving time and energy, it makes larger earnings possible”. The biases in this source are prominent. It is written from the point of view of a Ford employee saying only positive things about the vehicle and trying to get readers to purchase it. This helps to understand marketing schemes used by ford to promote the Model T. It was used to show how the Ford Model T was marketed toward the young adult male.
Ford Motor Company. Automobile Trade Journal. 1912. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement came out in 1912 just as the popularity of the automobile was skyrocketing in America. The Ford Motor Company issued the ad in 1912 in the Automobile Trade Journal which was a journal read by people who had interest in automobiles. This advertisement was published to show the economic advantages of transportation by automobile versus transportation by horse. The Ford Motor Company was hoping to show people the advantages of the car so that they would buy one. The Advertisement, however, fails to mention that the Ford did run on gas which was hard to get at the time. Also the advertisement fails to mention the lack of smooth road surface to drive on. This advertisement was beneficial because it is informative of the benefits of the Ford Model T and its economic advantages. It was used to show Ford’s marketing tactics.
Ford Motor Company. Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal. 1908. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement came out in 1908, during the birth of the American Automobile culture. It was published in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal which was a magazine about cars and bicycles, and was read by people interested in both. The automobile’s popularity was growing, and although it was still considered more of a luxury for the rich, Ford began to advertise it as an economical solution for the masses. The purpose of the ad was to inform people of the New Ford’s Affordability and make them want to buy a Ford. The advertisement does say that it will be good-looking beyond compare, and that is simply the point of view of Ford. Other people find other cars or even horses much more attractive. This source is useful in discovering the marketing tactics of Ford. They are more focused on making the Model T both affordable and appealing to the eye.
Ford Motor Company. Ford Magazine 46, 1924. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement was shown in Ford Magazine in 1924. It was one of many Ford advertisements which targeted the Female market. The ad states that it is a woman’s “Companion for the Holiday”. It also talks about its comfort and simplicity to operate. During this time woman were thought of as inferior to men and relied on them for many things. This advertisement is stating that with a Model T, women can go visit their friends, go shopping, etcetera. This article is from the perspective of Ford trying to sell as many vehicles as possible. They are targeting women and elect not to discuss problems with the Model T like constant maintenance. This source was helpful to understand Ford’s marketing schemes and their different customer bases. It was used to help us understand Ford’s broad spectrum of customers.
Ford Motor Company. Ford Magazine, 66, 1924. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
Ford’s advertisement appeared in their magazine in 1924. This particular ad is meant to go out to women looking to own a car. The ad says how the T gives freedom to women to explore nature in a safe manner. At this point in time women generally did not have the same position in the work force and even home life as they do today. This is why Ford advertised the T to women; he wanted them to feel like the car would give them more freedom and control. The ad is from the point of view of Ford trying to appeal to women, so they neglect to mention that the T needs to be cranked in order to start and other negative aspects of the car. This source was useful because it shows how the Model T became such a well-liked automobile. The advertisement was used to explain about the market of the Model T and how it included women.
Ford Motor Company. Life Magazine, 1 October 1908. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This Model T advertisement was published in Life Magazine on October 1st, 1908. Life Magazine was and is still a magazine mainly for adults so it is suiting that a car ad appeared in this because adults had the money to purchase cars. There is no formal author of this source but it was likely created by an employee of the Ford advertising agency. There are biases in this article which attempt to target the readers emotions and convince them to purchase the Model T. It discusses how much better the Model T is than any other car on the market. This is from the point of view of someone who works for Ford and doesn’t want you to know anything good about other car manufacturers. This source is beneficial to helping understand the marketing techniques used by Ford Motor Company in its early stages.
“The Stock Market versus the Automobile Market,” Chicago Tribune, 16 August 1910.
This political cartoon was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1910. The intended audience is the consumers of America. During this time the automobile industry in the United States was booming while stock brokers on Wall Street were struggling to sell stock. The purpose of the document was to show Americans how the automobile industry’s success was accompanied by the struggle of the stock market. A major bias of this cartoon is that the artist chooses to exaggerate the fact that people were not buying a lot of stock at the time. He does this by putting no people on the side of the street that represents the stock market and loads of people on the automobile side. Clearly, there were people buying stock, just not as many as there once were, but the artist over exaggerates the situation to make it more striking. This gives an idea of how truly successful the automobile was at this period in time, just two years after the Model T was introduced.
Louis Burcar’s (a Ford employee) poem was published in the book Model T: How Henry Ford Built a Legend in 2002, although it was written when he was working in Henry Ford’s factories. It is unknown who the intended audience of the poem is, but it could just be Burcar’s way of relieving some of his stress from his monotonous work on the assembly line. The poet’s main idea is that the workers in Henry Ford’s factories had a horrible work day that was so hectic and repetitive that it was enough to make someone crazy. He repeats the words maddening and monotony to emphasize how boring and repeating the work was. The information that is not revealed in the poem is that because of these workers doing such boring, monotonous work, the Model T could be produced much more efficiently. This is because it is written from the point of view of a factory worker. This source gives a unique perspective because it critiques the labor that the Ford factory used and gives a different viewpoint on the topic. The source was used to put into perspective how an assembly line worker might feel making the Model T.
Crowther, Samuel and Henry Ford. My Life and Work. Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc.
Samuel Crowther and Henry Ford co-wrote an autobiography about Henry Ford’s life in 1922. This autobiography is intended for anyone intrigued by Henry Ford’s life and the success of his company. It discusses many aspects of Ford’s life and company such as his challenges, ideas, and dreams. This source was extremely biased because it was told from Henry Ford’s point of view. At times he would discuss how superior his Model T was to the competition. On other occasions he would blame his problems on others such his former boss when he could have been at fault. This source was very helpful because it provided an invaluable look at Henry Ford’s life through his own eyes. This autobiography was used to compare and validate Henry Ford's actual ideas with those in biographies written by others.
Ford, Henry. 1926. Interview by Samuel Crowther, October. “Why I Favor Five Days Work with Six Days’ Pay.” World’s Work Magazine.
Samuel Crowther was the interviewer when he published his questions and Henry Ford’s responses in October of 1926. Crowther published this interview as an article in a monthly magazine, World’s Work. The article was mainly intended to be read by the average American working man in the early nineteen hundreds, which was a time of revolutionary break troughs in the production industry. The purpose of this document was for Henry Ford to explain why he decided to invoke a five day, forty hour workweek at his factories and keep the same wages, a revolutionary concept at the time. Ford strongly supports his reasoning behind making his decision to change his factories hours, and does not fully acknowledge the downsides. Many primary source quotes were taken from this interview and then used to help further understand the impact of the innovation of Ford’s employees’ working schedule.
Ford Motor Company. American Boy, May and June. 1924. Available at http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This Model T advertisement was featured in American Boy in 1924. It portrays a young man delivering mail in his Model T Runabout stating “For the young business man”. This advertisement is targeted towards young working men looking to purchase their first automobile. This advertisement is meant to promote The Model T Runabout to workers making statements like, “By saving time and energy, it makes larger earnings possible”. The biases in this source are prominent. It is written from the point of view of a Ford employee saying only positive things about the vehicle and trying to get readers to purchase it. This helps to understand marketing schemes used by ford to promote the Model T. It was used to show how the Ford Model T was marketed toward the young adult male.
Ford Motor Company. Automobile Trade Journal. 1912. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement came out in 1912 just as the popularity of the automobile was skyrocketing in America. The Ford Motor Company issued the ad in 1912 in the Automobile Trade Journal which was a journal read by people who had interest in automobiles. This advertisement was published to show the economic advantages of transportation by automobile versus transportation by horse. The Ford Motor Company was hoping to show people the advantages of the car so that they would buy one. The Advertisement, however, fails to mention that the Ford did run on gas which was hard to get at the time. Also the advertisement fails to mention the lack of smooth road surface to drive on. This advertisement was beneficial because it is informative of the benefits of the Ford Model T and its economic advantages. It was used to show Ford’s marketing tactics.
Ford Motor Company. Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal. 1908. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement came out in 1908, during the birth of the American Automobile culture. It was published in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal which was a magazine about cars and bicycles, and was read by people interested in both. The automobile’s popularity was growing, and although it was still considered more of a luxury for the rich, Ford began to advertise it as an economical solution for the masses. The purpose of the ad was to inform people of the New Ford’s Affordability and make them want to buy a Ford. The advertisement does say that it will be good-looking beyond compare, and that is simply the point of view of Ford. Other people find other cars or even horses much more attractive. This source is useful in discovering the marketing tactics of Ford. They are more focused on making the Model T both affordable and appealing to the eye.
Ford Motor Company. Ford Magazine 46, 1924. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This advertisement was shown in Ford Magazine in 1924. It was one of many Ford advertisements which targeted the Female market. The ad states that it is a woman’s “Companion for the Holiday”. It also talks about its comfort and simplicity to operate. During this time woman were thought of as inferior to men and relied on them for many things. This advertisement is stating that with a Model T, women can go visit their friends, go shopping, etcetera. This article is from the perspective of Ford trying to sell as many vehicles as possible. They are targeting women and elect not to discuss problems with the Model T like constant maintenance. This source was helpful to understand Ford’s marketing schemes and their different customer bases. It was used to help us understand Ford’s broad spectrum of customers.
Ford Motor Company. Ford Magazine, 66, 1924. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
Ford’s advertisement appeared in their magazine in 1924. This particular ad is meant to go out to women looking to own a car. The ad says how the T gives freedom to women to explore nature in a safe manner. At this point in time women generally did not have the same position in the work force and even home life as they do today. This is why Ford advertised the T to women; he wanted them to feel like the car would give them more freedom and control. The ad is from the point of view of Ford trying to appeal to women, so they neglect to mention that the T needs to be cranked in order to start and other negative aspects of the car. This source was useful because it shows how the Model T became such a well-liked automobile. The advertisement was used to explain about the market of the Model T and how it included women.
Ford Motor Company. Life Magazine, 1 October 1908. Available at
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/ads.html
This Model T advertisement was published in Life Magazine on October 1st, 1908. Life Magazine was and is still a magazine mainly for adults so it is suiting that a car ad appeared in this because adults had the money to purchase cars. There is no formal author of this source but it was likely created by an employee of the Ford advertising agency. There are biases in this article which attempt to target the readers emotions and convince them to purchase the Model T. It discusses how much better the Model T is than any other car on the market. This is from the point of view of someone who works for Ford and doesn’t want you to know anything good about other car manufacturers. This source is beneficial to helping understand the marketing techniques used by Ford Motor Company in its early stages.
“The Stock Market versus the Automobile Market,” Chicago Tribune, 16 August 1910.
This political cartoon was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1910. The intended audience is the consumers of America. During this time the automobile industry in the United States was booming while stock brokers on Wall Street were struggling to sell stock. The purpose of the document was to show Americans how the automobile industry’s success was accompanied by the struggle of the stock market. A major bias of this cartoon is that the artist chooses to exaggerate the fact that people were not buying a lot of stock at the time. He does this by putting no people on the side of the street that represents the stock market and loads of people on the automobile side. Clearly, there were people buying stock, just not as many as there once were, but the artist over exaggerates the situation to make it more striking. This gives an idea of how truly successful the automobile was at this period in time, just two years after the Model T was introduced.
