HIST Sample Article II
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Southern New Hampshire University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
20021
Subject
History
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by ChefNeutronBaboon29
Part II: Sample Article
How did the introduction of the Ford Assembly Line forever change the production industry and the working class?
Primary Source: Henry Ford's Comments on the Assembly Line
(Gale, 2015). This article gives us insight from none other than the creator of the Ford Assembly Line man himself, Henry Ford. He explains his mindset of how and why it all began. Giving the reader a first-hand perspective on this marvelous invention that changed the way mass production would be produced all around the world.
Secondary Source: Workers in the Industrial Age
(Benson, et al 2006). This article depicts the history of American work life and conditions during the turn of the 21
st
Century. The blue-collar harsh and treacherous working conditions. The abuse and exportation of child labor. The bias and prejudice faced by immigrant workers. Those who were forced to work in extremely hazardous working conditions that resulted in many lives lost.
Primary Source: Excerpt from I Belong to the Working Class, 1893
(Stokes, 1999). A heart-wrenching excerpt from an autobiography written by Author, Rose Harriet Wieslander. A Russian immigrant who migrated to America at the
turn of the century. Who worked as a child laborer for a cigar factory. The gripping details of the excerpt depict the trauma of being a child forced to work long hours in poor conditions with little to no food and scarce clothing that was not fit to stand the sometimes brutally cold weather conditions. How this child trauma shaped her political views on American Industry and her passion for making political changes as an adult.
Secondary Source: The Development of Mass Production Has a Dramatic Impact on Industry and Society
(Schlager, et al 2001). This article discusses the impact of the major elements of how the development of mass production profoundly changed manufacturing forever and how this development affected society and the way of life from that point moving forward.
In the nineteenth century, employers found child labor beneficial for the company due to tasks that children could perform better or faster due to being
more nimble or smaller than adults. Also, it was more difficult for children to unionize. They were also paid less an hour than adults for the same work. By the end of the century, Reformers had made successful efforts to limit the hours and harsh working conditions for native-born American children from long hours and harsh working conditions. Concerned for the children getting an education. During this time, an influx of immigrants from other countries were migrating to America. Thus, providing a fresh supply of child labor for the Industrial Revolution. These children were subject to long hours, prejudice, and harsh dangerous working conditions. Author, Rose Harriet Wieslander recalled details of life as a Russian child laborer immigrant in America. “I was working ten or eleven-hour days. Food became so scarce in our cupboard that we almost measured out every square inch of bread. There was nothing left for clothing and shoes. I wore mine till the snow and slush came through. I had often to sit all day at my bench with icy feet in wet leather.” (Wieslander, 1893). Between 1902 and 1905 many organizations committed to ending child labor in the United States. It wasn’t until the Great Depression era that industries ceased the need for child labor due to a shortage of jobs to ensure adults could
find work instead. During the nineteenth century, the workplace was not regulated by the government. So, this meant manufacturing companies could subject employees to long grueling hours, very low wages, and very dangerous or unhealthy working conditions. Employee benefits or retirement plans were almost unheard of in the nineteenth century. Leaving many to rely on family members to take care of them when they were physically unable to work. The wages were so low that the majority of the working-class lived-in poverty.
Per an article in the Development of Industrial U.S. Reference Library
, “Industrial workers received little support from their employers, the government, or other agencies. Arrangements for the care of orphaned,
neglected, or delinquent children were inadequate or nonexistent. The death or desertion of the family wage earner, usually the male head of household, spelled tragedy for mothers without insurance, widows' benefits, or government support. Bereaved mothers who had to work outside the home were often forced to leave a child as young as eight or nine to care for even younger children” (Benson, et al 2006). The immigration boom in the late Nineteenth century gave manufacturer companies, like Henry Ford, plenty of workers to man the lines for his production of the Model T Automobile. Ford was determined to mass-produce inexpensive automobiles. “Ford's determination to make Model Ts and only Model Ts helped in the development of mass production techniques. Each process was broken down into its smallest parts, and as the components moved down the line, the pieces
soon formed the whole. Throughout the process Ford emphasized accuracy, and experts noted the durability and soundness of the automobile.” (N. Schlager, et al 2001). Ford’s innovation and determination to create the assembly line created not only a faster way to mass produce but also a much safer way of doing so for his
workers. “Every piece of work in the shop moves," Ford explained. "It may move on hooks on overhead chains going to assembly in the exact order in which the parts are required; it may travel on a moving platform, or it may go by gravity, but the point is that there is no lifting or trucking of anything other than materials." Soon, Model Ts were being produced once every two minutes.”
(Gale, 2015). In 1914, Ford, faced with a labor shortage, decided to pay his workers $5.00 for an 8-hour working day. Something almost unheard of to pay so much per day for industry workers during that time. Ford recognized the necessity of man versus machine and the importance of keeping his workers safe, paid well, and utilizing machine and man to work together in a way that made mass
production fast, safe, and affordable for his clients.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Ford’s assembly line pioneered mass production across America and the world. Creating a faster, more efficient way to manufacture. Also, making a safer and more financially satisfying pay rate for its employees. How did the introduction of the Ford Assembly Line forever change the production industry and the working class? It did so by paving the way for mass production to be produced faster and more efficiently with fewer human mistakes and casualties. Where machine and man could work together to mass produce. References:
"Workers in the Industrial Age." Development of the Industrial U.S. Reference Library, edited by Sonia G. Benson, et al., vol. 1: Almanac, UXL, 2006, pp. 117-
132. U.S. History In Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3442000019/UHIC?
u=nhc_main&sid=UHIC&xid=da3d2f21. Accessed 12 July 2018.
“The Development of Mass Production Has a Dramatic Impact on Industry and
Society." Science and Its Times, edited by Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer, vol. 6, Gale, 2001. U.S. History In Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV2643450624/UHIC?
u=nhc_main&sid=UHIC&xid=ce16a1b6. Accessed 13 July 2018.
Ford, Henry. "Henry Ford Comments on the Assembly Line." Gale U.S. History in Context, 2015, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/DHFOSM987208216/UHIC?
u=nhc_main&sid=UHIC&xid=e35ecd10 . Accessed 12 July 2018. (From the Shapiro Library)
Stokes, Rose Pastor. "Excerpt from I Belong to the Working Class." World War I and the Jazz Age, Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. U.S. History In Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ2164000039/UHIC?
u=nhc_main&sid=UHIC&xid=48f02d0b. Accessed 12 July 2018. (From the Shapiro Library)