Ford was a pioneer of modern American society. Much of what we see and do everyday stems directly from his dream of an automobile affordable to all.
I'm currently working on a set of articles about Henry Ford, the Model T, etc., etc. It is rather striking when one takes a look at Henry Ford and his life that although he was one of the prime movers in shaping the world of the 20th Century, he was also one of the first to realize and have an averse reaction to many of the changes wrought by "a car in every driveway."
Ford grew up on a farm in rural Michigan. Although he is said to have decided early on that farm life was not for him, he nonetheless felt a nostalgia for the world that was being lost in the progression toward the modern world. In later life he formed a notion of creating an ideal community where everyone could walk to get the things they needed, and meet and greet their neighbors.
Road Rage, gridlock, and highway shootings were barely even thought of yet, but already Ford was perceiving an ill effect on his ideal world from the automotive transportation revolution he was so instrumental in bringing into being. He is also instumental in making many modern workers semi-skilled single taskers rather than skilled craftsmen. Ford is a hugely interesting man, and my research on him will stretch on for quite some time. Come back occasionally, as this is the first installment of a larger work in progress.
