Henry Ford for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities
FOR MY GRANDSON THEO and his fourth grade class at Wildwood Elementary School in Piedmont California with thanks for helping me test out some of the activities in this book You are an awesome
NOTE TO READERS here are two things it will be helpful for you to know as you read this book First the book contains a glossary starting on page 110 All the glossary terms are in bold typeface upon their first appearance in the book Second dollar amounts given in the book are contemporary figures That means they are the amount for the time period discussed You may want to convert some of the dollar figures to the equivalent amount today One way to do this is to find an inflation calculator on the Internet such as the US Inflation Calculator www usinflation calculator com For example in converting the 5 a day figure Henry Ford paid many of his workers in 1914 to a 2015 dollar amount you would arrive at 116 85 Regardless of the year in which you're reading this book you can use an inflation calculator to convert monetary values from Henry Ford's time to
INTRODUCTION enry Ford did not invent the automobile He was not the first to place an engine inside a buggy thus creating a horseless carriage What Henry Ford did do with the automobile however gave birth to a modern America Before Henry Ford cars were owned mostly by the wealthy If there were no Fords it was said automobiling would be like yachting the sport of the rich In 1900 just 4 192 automo biles were registered in the United States With Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T in 1908 that number grew rapidly By 1910 181 000 cars traveled the streets and highways of America By 1920 there were almost two million Henry Ford made such phenomenal growth happen I will build a motorcar for the multi tude he declared It will be large enough for the family but small enough for the individual to run and care for It will be constructed of the best materials by the best men to be hired after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours
