Henry Ford: The Man Behind The Model T Quiz

Answer: Greenfield Township

When Ford was born, Abraham Lincoln was President of the twenty-four States of The Union. Jefferson Davis was the President of the eleven states that remained with the Confederacy. In 1879, as a young boy, Ford helped his father with the farming when he was not in school.

At the age of sixteen, Ford walked to Detroit to find work in its machine shops. It was at one of these shops that Henry worked for three years, where he worked with the internal-combustion engine for the first time. In 1892, after three years of learning about the combustion engine, Henry returned to his father's farm.

However, he did not remain at the farm for long, because he decided he wanted to work part-time for Westinghouse Engine Company. While he held a part-time job, Ford set up a little machine shop of his own on his father's farm.

Henry was very agile and adept at creating things with his hands. Since he had learned so much from his time in Detroit, he eventually created a small farm locomotive, which is a tractor that used a mowing motor as its chassis, and for power he made a homemade steam engine.

Answer: Edsel Bryant Ford

In 1892, Ford and his wife moved to Detroit. For Ford this would be his second trip to Detroit. On November 6, 1893, after only being back in Detroit for one year, his wife gave birth to their only child, Edsel Bryant Ford. It was a momentous occasion for Ford, with the birth of his son, he was made Chief Engineer of the Edison Illuminating Company, which is now the Detroit Edison Company.

As Chief Engineer, Ford was responsible for maintaining electrical service to the city twenty-four hours a day.

This new position and lofty hours were perfect for Ford. On call at all times, and never having a set schedule, he was able to experiment to his hearts content.

Answer: 1893

While employed with Edison Illuminating Company, Henry, along with another fellow employee, created gasoline powered engines. What set Ford apart from his coworker, Charles Brady King, was that Ford sold his engine, so that he would have money in which to build an automobile.

Many Ford historians believe that he did not create the gasoline powered engine until 1902 or 1903. However, according to all of the records that were contained in Ford's estate at the time of his death, he, and he alone, produced the first gasoline powered engine.

When his estate was probated, illustrations were discovered for the gasoline powered engine, the quadricycle, and for the Model T. It seems that Ford had always had high hopes of creating those things, and he most certainly was revolutionary for his times.

Answer: Detroit Automobile Company

In 1901, Ford's financial supporters were determined to absolve the company and move on. It was apparent to them that Ford only wanted to improve upon automobiles that he was all ready working on. Ford repeatedly told his financial supporters that his cars were not ready for the public. During the latter part of 1901, Ford was not happy with the pressure that his backers were giving him, and he decided on his own to leave the company.

Henry's financial backers absolved the Detroit Automobile Company, and renamed it Oldsmobile.

In the early part of 1902, the four men who once supported and exploited Henry Ford, met a man by the name of Henry M. Leland. Leland was having problems with his automotive backers as well, and was looking to expand his contacts. Upon hearing that Ford had left his company and financial backers, Leland decided to take a crack at presenting is small compact engine to them.

His engine was so small that on the day he met with his future supporters, he carried the small engine into the meeting by himself. Leland explained in detail to the men how the engine would work.

His future backers were immediately impressed with him and commissioned a car to be built specifically for Leland's engine. The car that was created was not called the Leland, as well it should have been. But Leland made a suggestion for the name of the car. He wished that the car be named after French explorer, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who had founded the city of Detroit. By the end of 1902, heading into 1903, the first Cadillac was available to the public. It was an instant hit with the public and financial supporters alike. In the latter part of 1903, Leland had discovered that parts of an engine that had deteriorated, could be replaced rather than to replace an entire engine. In 1905, Leland bought the name Cadillac from his financial backers and was now the ruling factor in his own company. Leland eventually sold his company to General Motors. He served as an executive in the General Motors Company as the Chief Operating Officer in charge of the Cadillac division. He remained with General Motors until 1917, when disagreements arose about the future quality of the Cadillac. In 1917, Leland started another company that would build aircraft engines for the war effort. Eventually, the building that the aircraft engines were manufactured in turned to making engines for automobiles, under the tutelage of Leland. When Leland left General Motors, he took with him the name Cadillac, because he had sold the business end to General Motors, but not the name, and he wanted to add another car to his Cadillac brand. He chose the single most influential person, that he considered to be a true hero. He named his subdivision and subsequently its cars, after Abraham Lincoln.

Answer: $28,000

Ford had a way of looking at things and gaining the most from them. In 1903, it was highly irregular to petition citizens to put up financial support towards a company. Usually, only the wealthier and more elite could afford any type of financial support.

However, Henry was a favorite with the citizens and they rushed to his aide. His company, The Ford Motor Company, almost floundered within five weeks of its inception. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers attempted to shut down Ford and his company, saying that he himself was not a licensed manufacturer.

Moreover, he had been denied entry into this elite organization, because The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers wanted to limit the intake of potential inventors who could be detrimental to the automotive industry.

They used, as control over Ford, the gasoline powered engine he was using was patented and that he never received permission from Baldwin Selden, a patent lawyer, who claimed the invention first. Ford believed that the Selden Patent was outrageous, he stated that the gas empowered engines were a matter of evolution, and here was Seldon claiming to be the most honorable of inventors.

A lawsuit, that would last six years, almost rocked the Ford Motor Company to its knees. Ford's company was such a small organization to be pitted against The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers, but nonetheless, he fought them bitterly. In 1909, Ford lost the first case against Seldon and The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. However, in 1911 he appealed the verdict and won the lawsuit. The battle that Ford had overcame made him and instant celebrity around Detroit, and many in the industry considered him a hero.

Answer: 15,500,000

From the time the Model T rolled out of The Ford Motor Company in 1908, and until more futuristic cars came into play in 1927, the Model T set ground breaking selling records. During the nineteen years that the Model T was manufactured and sold, 15,500,000 of these cars were sold in the United States. In Canada, the Model T was highly revered and 1,000,000 of these cars were sold. Great Britain was fast jumping on the tail end of this great and inexpensive car. The people of Great Britain purchased 250,000 of Henry Ford's car. The first Model T, that was manufactured was the Model T Advance. The specifications for the first Model T are as follows: "Motor: 4 cylinder 4 cycle, vertical, 20 h. p. 3 3/4 in. bore, 4 in. stroke, Cylinders cast in one block with water jackets, and upper half of crank case integral, water jacketed cylinder head detachable, fine grain gray iron castings. Valves: Extra large, all on left side and offset. Shafts: Crank and cam non-welded drop forged heat treated Ford Vanadium steel, bearing surfaces ground, cams integral and ground. Crank Case: Upper half integral with cylinder casting. Lower half pressed steel and extended to form lower housing for magneto and transmission. Cooling: Gear driven centrifugal pump. Ignition: Ford magneto generator, low tension, direct connected to engine drive. Carburetor: New design, float feed automatic with dash adjustment. Transmission: New design Ford spur planetary, bathed in oil, - all gears from heat treated Vanadium steel, silent and easy in action. Lubrication: Combination splash and gravity system-simple and sure. Insures against insufficient or excessive lubrication. Clutch: Multiple steel discs, operating in oil. Control: All forward speeds by foot pedal. Reverse by hand lever. Spark and throttle under steering wheel. Final Drive: By cardon shaft with single universal joint to bevel drive gears in live rear axle. Ford three point system (patented in all countries) with all moving parts enclosed in dust proof casing, running in oil. Vanadium steel throughout. Front Axle: One piece drop forging in I-beam section, specially treated, Vanadium steel. Steering: By Ford reduction gear system; irreversible.
Brakes: 2 sets. (a) Service band brake on transmission; (b) Internal expanding brakes in rear hub drums. Wheels Artillery wood type. Hubs extra long. Tires: Pneumatic; rear 30 x 3 1/2 inches, front 30 x 3 inches. Springs: Front and rear, semi-elliptic. Wheel Base: 100 in., tread 56 in.; 60 in. for Southern roads where ordered. Gas Tank: 10 gallons. Cylindrical gasoline tank mounted directly on frame. Standard Equipment: Side oil lamps, tail lamp, tube horn and gas lamp brackets. Touring Car and Roadster ironed for top". The Ford Model T weighed 1200 pounds and had an initial selling price of $850.
The specifications listed here can be found at www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/specs.html. Henry Ford's dream had come true, no more would driving be just for the wealthy and elite. Men, women, and farmers that lived in locales that were harder to reach, enjoyed the idea of having freedom to travel. With the arrival of the Model T, horses, that were once used to carry passengers and haul a carriage, became obsolete.

Answer: $2.34 per day

In 1914, Ford astounded his critics when he increased the daily pay from $2.34 per day to $5.00 per day, and he also reduced the nine hour work day to eight hours per day. By doing that, Ford had created three eight hour shifts at his manufacturing plant. Needless to say, he became an instant celebrity and was admired by his employees.

The sole reason for Ford changing, what is now known as the blue collar industry, had only to do with profits for his company. If he wanted people to buy his cars, he had to get them out of poverty levels. By increasing the daily wage, he revolutionized the working force.

Answer: Horace and John Dodge

During the early years of The Ford Motor Company, eight different Model T's were manufactured and sold to the public. In 1908, the company's automotive output was approximately one hundred cars a day. Ford was not happy with these figures, and wanted to expand and modernize the company, so that his workers would be able to produce approximately one thousand cars a day.

His shareholders, Horace and John Dodge, thought that he was insane. They threatened to sue him in a court of law to prevent him from using revenue to update the manufacturing plant.

In the beginning, the Dodge brothers were only using empty threats to get Ford to come around to their way of thinking, and in return, Ford said that he would only make Model T's and nothing else. Ford forced the Dodge Brothers' hand and they sued him in 1916. What Ford failed to understand was that it was the Dodge Brothers, who besides holding shares of six percent in The Ford Motor Company, also supplied the Chassis for The Ford Company. The lawsuit maintained that what Ford wanted was reckless expansion and by reducing the price of the Model T, was in effect damaging the company and any future sales or commitments that the company may have in the future.

In 1917, the Dodge brothers were victorious over Ford in the lawsuit. However, Ford appealed and lost his case in 1919, when the judge that ruled on the case said "that while Ford's sentiments about his employees and customers were nice, a business is for the profit of its stockholders". Ford flew into a rage and made statements that no one, not even the judge, was going to tell him how to run his company. In 1918, Ford was forced to resign and passed over the scepter to his only son, Edsel. The Dodge brothers tried to fight Ford yet again. However, a judge ruled that the Dodge brothers could not say that Ford was recklessly managing the company, and then refuse to let him leave. While court action was going on, and while the brothers' minds were elsewhere, Ford had a coup over them. He bought the remaining shares from the other seven stockholders. In 1920, The Ford Motor Company was reorganized under a 1920 Delaware Charter. All the shares of the company would only be held by members of the Ford family.

Answer: 16

To make his company more successful, Ford purchased a railroad, sixteen coal mines, and seven hundred thousand acres of timberland, along with a fleet of freighters to carry in his supplies, and a glass company. Ford was at the manufacturing plant every morning before sun up, getting everything ready before the day shift employees were due to arrive. According to Ford historians, Ford paid a decent wage, but worked his employees entirely too hard.

The most astounding thing about Ford and his ideas were that most business owners had to get financing from banks and corporations, but The Ford Motor Company bought everything that it needed to maintain its business from the profits of the Model T.

Answer: April 7, 1947

Ford's business financial manager, James Couzens, had always proclaimed that Henry Ford was a genius and could not be analyzed. Henry Ford passed away on April 7, 1947. His stock and all future holdings to The Ford Company were set in trust funds for his future heirs in The Ford Foundation.

The Ford family has always mantained leadership over the company. All of the information can be found at the following websites: www.expo98.msu.edu/bios/ford.html and www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/MgmtCon/Henry_Ford.html. Thank you for taking my quiz.