The biography of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century, this documentary of Henry Ford offers an incisive look at the birth of the American auto industry with its long history of struggles between labor and management., and his Five Dollar Day laid the foundation for the creation of the American middle class. A bundle of contradictions, Ford was at once forward and backward looking, innovative and closed-minded, generous and mean-spirited. The same man who helped to liberate millions from social isolation with his Model T also trapped thousands in a workplace prison where they were forbidden to sit or talk. This incisive biography draws upon a rich archival record and recent scholarship to provide a revealing portrait of a complex, pivotal, and ultimately flawed figure.
Henry Ford's car transformed the lives of millions, and redrew the grid of much of the world. His assembly line changed the character of modern industry, and his Five Dollar Day laid the foundation for the creation of the American middle class. A bundle of contradictions, Ford was at once forward and backward looking, innovative and closed-minded, generous and mean-spirited. The same man who helped to liberate millions from social isolation with his Model T also trapped thousands in a workplace prison where they were forbidden to sit or talk. This incisive biography draws upon a rich archival record and recent scholarship to provide a revealing portrait of a complex, pivotal, and ultimately flawed figure.