Ashi Arora

Dr. Martin
HON 1000: Essay #2
Piquette Ford Plant: Where Fordism Was First Planted
Ford Motor Companys Piquette Plant was built in 1904 and stands today as a famous
historical site that portrays the importance and effect of Fordism in manufacturing and in
society in the 20th century. Fordism, a concept first planted in the Piquette Plant, describes the
art of manufacturing that Ford created, the moving assembly line, and how its productivity led to
economic growth in America.1
As Piquette was the first-purpose built factory of the Ford Motor Company, the
development of the various Models, ranging from B to T, took place in the plant as the form of
transportation at the time was transitioning from horses and carriages to automobiles. Fords
competitors maintained that cars were only luxury items that would appeal only to those who
led a leisurely lifestyle. Fords goal, on the other hand, was to manufacture and sell affordable
cars for the average American, determined that he could revolutionize society by creating this
mainstream product. 2, 3
One major issue was the size of the Piquette Plant.4 Due to the limited space and the
stationary assembly line, the speed and efficiency of the production of the automobiles was
hindered, and Ford took the initiative to build a larger factory in Highland Park in 1911 where
the moving assembly line was established and the concept of Fordism flourished.
1

Defintion of Fordism retrieved from Jessop, Bob, and Andr Munro. "Fordism: Economic
History." Encyclopedia Britannica . N.p., Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
2
In Detroit: A Biography, Martelle describes Fords goal to create an affordable, vehicle for the
middle working class instead of creating a luxury vehicle for the wealthy elite minority
3
During my visit to the Piquette Ford Plant, the tour guide emphasized Fords desire to create
affordable cars which led to the development of the middle class in America.
4
During my group collaboration in seminar, my group discussed our reflections of the plant and
identified the limited space for manufacturing cars as the issue presented by the site.

It was the attitude of affordability and foresight into the needs of the middle class that
motivated Ford to continually develop better and less expensive manufacturing methods that
would ultimately allow factories to reliably mass produce cars. In the Piquette Ford Plant, cars
were individually constructed by skilled workmen using the stationary assembly line which was
slow and expensive. Fords new factory in Highland Park incorporated the first moving assembly
line. The Model-T went from being built in 12 hours and 30 minutes to being built in 5 hours and
50 minutes. Parts were delivered to workers as they stood in the same place and performed the
same, simple tasks repeatedly allowing for an increase in the speed of production.5 A few
knowledgeable Ford engineers were able to craft machines that unskilled people could use to
complete standardized and mechanized operations.6 These tasks, according to Ford, consisted of
no skill...only repetition; each job on the line was just as valuable as any other.
Ford constantly experimented with new materials, machines, and operations allowing all
men the ill, the disabled, the criminal, the unintelligent, the unschooled, and those who could
not speak English, and even women a chance to achieve the economic benefits of labor,
growing his work force and producing more cars.7 From 1909 to 1910, Ford produced 18,664
cars that averaged $950. In 1918 to 1919, he sold 533,755 cars that averaged only $525.8
5

In the Americas Motor City Exhibit of the Detroit Historical Museum, the moving assembly
line was highlighted. The increase in speed and decreased cost of manufacturing and labor which
maximized efficiency was explained. The two facts included were retrieved from the exhibit.
6,7
Curcio, Vincent. Henry Ford. N.p.: Oxford University Press, USA, 2013. 67-78. Wayne State
University E-Library System. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
8
This statistic was retrieved from Chapter 6 The Auto Era of Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A
Biography. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2012. 69-83. Print.

This method of production was efficient and inexpensive, however the tasks became
repetitive and over time the jobs became dehumanizing for the workers. The work was physically
exhausting, but more so it was mentally disengaging. Julian Street, an American author of the
20th century, described the plant atmosphere as a million sinners groaning as they were dragged
to hell...at the very edge of Niagara Falls.9
Ford cared for the welfare of his workers in a paternalistic manner and supported the idea
of increased wages and better conditions as it would lead to greater productivity. Ford, therefore,
increased the wages of his workers to $5 for an eight-hour work day. He created a Sociological
Department to control his workforce by enforcing the Ford Manual. In his attempt to
ameliorate the workforce, Ford wanted all of his employees and their families to achieve middle
class values10 and to be well housed and to be as free as possible from danger of disease caused
byfilthy tenements and unwholesome localities.11
Immigrant labor at the Ford Motor Company during the 1910s made up about 70% of the
workforce. The Ford Sociological Department transformed its immigrant workforce into an
American, middle-class-minded, working class.12 This transformation of immigrants was
clearly depicted in the Ford Graduation Ceremony at Fords English school, which focused on
training immigrants in the English language and civic lessons.
9, 10

Curcio, Vincent. Henry Ford. N.p.: Oxford University Press, USA, 2013. 67-78. Wayne State
University E-Library System. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
11
The aim of the Ford Manual was to help employees and their families [draw] as much comfort
and satisfaction out of life as possible by leading clean, moral, and self-respecting lives, and to
provide for the future and old age.
12
Rephrased a quote from Loizides, Georgios P. ""Making Men" at Ford: Ethnicity, Race, and
Americanization During the Progressive Period." Michigan Sociological Association 21 (2007):
109-48. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

In the ceremony, immigrants were initially dressed in native clothing, entered the paper melting
pot, and left the melting pot wearing wearing American clothes, all identical to one another.
This illustrates how immigrants left their past and traditions behind, came to an industrial city,
adopted the standardized and industrial ways, and became rich.13
The concept of Fordism later proved to be beneficial during WWII, when various
factories took on the responsibility of manufacturing parts needed for the tools of war.
Specifically, Henry Ford built a new airplane factory, incorporated the concept of the moving
assembly line, and by August 1944, was able to produce a new B-24 bomber every hour.14
13

Dean Herron Monday Lecture #6 The Ossian Sweet Case, October 19, 2015
In Lecture, Dean Herron explained how people came from all over the world, all over this
country here, to Detroit, and they were taught how to be the type of standardized workers that
this new factory system needed. Dean Herron went on to explain Fords perspective: We dont
want to tradition, we want to live in the present, and if you want to come with me, I dont care
who you are, what language you speak, what national culture you come from, what differences
you bring to this state, if you want to come with me, I will teach you how to be here: a
standardized American making standardized parts and we will get rich.
In lecture, we came to the conclusion that the city taught us that you can live with the present,
come to this industrial city, adopt these new industrial ways, and become rich.
14
In Chapter 12 of Detroit: The Biography, Martelle explains how before the Pearl Harbor
attack, Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted the United States to war footing to assist Great Britain. As
the nation became an arsenal of democracy, Detroit underwent a huge conversion as its
facilities were being converted from making cars to making war machines. In particular, he
describes how Henry Ford built a massive new airplane plant in the rural town of Willow Run,
Michigan.

Ford was successful at the time, not because of the Model T, but because of the
companys vision which included affordable products and sustainable life styles.15 While Ford
paved the way for people to make money, build their lives, and metaphorically avoid living in the
valley of ashes,16 the restrictions he put on the workers and their families allowed for very little
room for freedom of choice and expression. Through Fordism, our society was moving more
towards assimilation and becoming a part of the greater system in which people walked away
from their past in order to adapt to the standardized ways in the Ford Motor Company, in terms
of both manufacturing and their lifestyles. Today, however, we are working to find balance
between being a part of something greater than ourselves while still retaining individuality and
freedom. Human ingenuity in the workforce is encouraged today as people can bring their
experiences, culture, and beliefs to the jobs they perform on a daily basis. We have transitioned
from forcing humans to perform the mundane tasks of a machine to machines performing the
soulless and draining tasks that workers had to endure as a part of the Ford Motor Company in
the 20th century.
15

An interview was conducted with Henry Fords great grandson Edsel B. Ford II and he reflects
on the significance of the Model T. When asked whether the Ford Motor Co. would have
survived without the Model T, Edsel responded that the key to Ford Motor Company's success
was not so much the product as it was the vision of the team that created it. Later in the
interview, Edsel states the rare talent of Henry Ford and his people was their ability to listen to
what people had to say, and then extrapolate from that what they were going to want, if only
someone would make it available.
16
In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of Ashes is the area that lies half way between West Egg, a
place where people lived by morals and not money, and New York. The Valley of Ashes is filled
with poverty, covered with ash, and it represents the group that was left behind during the
Roaring Twenties. Many people here couldnt even escape this state because of the lack of
money. I related this back to Ford as he prevented a group from being left behind during the
economic growth that resulted from Fordism like those in the Valley of Ashes by creating an
affordable car for the average American instead of valuing the luxury of cars.

Works Cited
1

Jessop, Bob, and Andr Munro. "Fordism: Economic History." Encyclopedia Britannica . N.p.,
Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
2,8

Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2012. 69-83.
Print.
3

Individual Tour of the Piquette Ford Plant during Site Visit, November 11, 2015

In-Group Collaboration, November 12, 2015

Detroit Historical Museum Visit: Americas Motor City Exhibit, November 5, 2015

6,7,9,10

Curcio, Vincent. Henry Ford. N.p.: Oxford University Press, USA, 2013. 67-78. Wayne
State University E-Library System. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
11

Ford, Henry. Ford Manual: Helpful Hints and Advice to Employees. Detroit: Ford Motor
Company, 1915. 3-41. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
12

Loizides, Georgios P. ""Making Men" at Ford: Ethnicity, Race, and Americanization During the
Progressive Period." Michigan Sociological Association 21 (2007): 109-48. JSTOR. Web. 14
Nov. 2015.
13

Dean Herron Monday Lecture #6 The Ossian Sweet Case, October 19, 2015.

14

Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2012. 139-140.
Print.
15

Webster, Sarah A. "Legacy Of Model T Still Apparent Today." Detroit Free Press, Jul 20
2008. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

16

Fitzgerald, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1995. 45-55. Print.