Summary
Highlights
Henry Ford faced legal troubles with investors, specifically the Dodge brothers, who sued him for not paying adequate dividends. The Dodge brothers believed a corporation's purpose was to generate profit for investors, a view Ford rejected. After a two-year legal battle, Ford was forced to pay $20 million to the minority stockholders. Determined to rid himself of 'meddling investors,' Ford announced his resignation and that his son Edil would take over, while secretly planning to start a rival company. This was a ploy to frighten stockholders into selling their shares. The plan worked, and Ford, through his son, bought out all minority shareholders, giving him, Edil, and Clara complete control of the company.
Despite Edsel's appointment as president, Henry Ford maintained absolute control, micro-managing every detail, particularly the massive River Rouge complex. He demonstrated his power by forcing Edsel to demolish and then leave an excavation for a new building untouched, humiliating his son. Henry also systemically fired loyal, high-level employees who had contributed greatly to the Model T's success, consolidating his power further and taking all the credit for the company's achievements. He surrounded himself with 'yes men' and reacted aggressively to any opposition.
In 1919, Henry Ford sued the Chicago Tribune for libel after they called him an 'ignorant idealist.' During the trial, the Tribune's lawyers attempted to expose Ford's supposed ignorance, leading to embarrassing exchanges where Ford appeared ill-informed, particularly about historical events. Although the jury found in Ford's favor, awarding him minimal damages, the press widely ridiculed his performance. However, paradoxically, the trial made Ford even more of a folk hero among common people, who saw him as an 'Everyman' persecuted by the elite press.
In 1920, Ford began publishing anti-Semitic articles in his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, blaming Jews for various societal problems and linking them to financial control and war. He used his extensive dealership network to distribute the publication, reaching a circulation of 900,000 by 1926. Despite widespread condemnation, Ford remained undeterred. A defamation suit eventually forced him to issue a public apology and shut down the paper, though privately he maintained his anti-Semitic beliefs.
The 1920s saw rapid changes in American society, driven by the automobile culture Ford himself helped create. However, Ford struggled to adapt to evolving consumer tastes, clinging to the Model T despite its declining sales in the face of competition from General Motors, which offered varied models and annual updates. Ford believed the Model T was perfect and resisted calls for a new car. His son Edsel, along with other executives, advocated for change, but Henry scorned their efforts. Eventually, after significant corporate pressure, Ford reluctantly agreed to discontinue the Model T and develop a new car. The Model A was unveiled to critical acclaim, reviving Ford Motor Company's fortunes, but Henry Ford once again took all the credit, deepening his strained relationship with Edsel.
By 1928, Ford's massive River Rouge plant was fully operational, employing 75,000 people and embodying Ford's industrial ambition and control. However, Ford soon grew to dislike the very 'monster' he created, finding the immense, heartless factory overwhelming. Concurrently, he invested heavily in Greenfield Village, a historical village he built to recreate the rural, small-town America of his youth, effectively an alternative world. This reflected his growing disillusionment with the modern world he had helped shape and his increasing desire to retreat into nostalgia, away from the complexities of actual industrial society.
The Great Depression severely impacted Ford Motor Company, with sales plummeting and massive layoffs. In response to mounting pressure, Ford increasingly relied on Harry Bennett, his security chief, a tough, streetwise former boxer who controlled the Rouge factory with an iron grip, enforcing strict rules through violence and intimidation. Bennett became Ford's closest confidant and surrogate son, further straining Henry's relationship with Edsel, whom Henry deemed weak. Ford adamantly opposed unionization, viewing it as a challenge to his absolute control. When the United Auto Workers (UAW) attempted to organize, Bennett's thugs violently suppressed their efforts, an event captured by photographers that drew national condemnation.
Despite his father's resistance, Edsel, seeking to resolve a worker strike for defense contracts, defied Henry and negotiated with the unions. Henry, though vehemently opposed, eventually capitulated, reportedly under pressure from his wife Clara, granting the UAW significant concessions. Soon after, Edsel's health deteriorated due to terminal stomach cancer, exacerbated by his father's relentless pressure and emotional abuse. Henry refused to believe Edsel was dying, attributing his illness to weakness. Edsel died in 1943 at age 49, leaving Henry shattered and filled with guilt. Subsequent to Edsel's death, Henry Ford's own health declined rapidly, marked by strokes and increasing mental instability, leading to chaos within the company during wartime production. He died in 1947 at 83.
Henry Ford was remembered not for his controversial views or harsh methods, but as the influential industrialist who revolutionized the 20th century, seen by many as a 'common man' who provided affordable transportation. After his death, the Ford Motor Company remained a dominant force in the auto industry. Edsel's son, Henry Ford II, took over the presidency, ending the family's sole control by taking the company public and dismantling his grandfather's social engineering experiments, including the failed Fordlandia rubber plantation in the Amazon, effectively closing a chapter on the intensely personal, autocratic rule of Henry Ford.