Silicon Valley and the Digital Revolution
Introduced in 1971, the microprocessor is basically the fundamental driving force and brain of all of the digital equipment we use today -- from iPhones and computers to notebooks and tablets.
Henry Ford and Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was Henry Ford's hero. In 1896, shortly after building his quadricycle, Henry Ford had the chance to meet the famous inventor at a convention in New York. Edison, who was convinced the future lay in electric powered cars, encouraged Ford to "keep at it." In 1907, Ford was on the brink of releasing the Model T. The inventors forged a friendship that lasted their whole lives.
Henry Ford Gives Dance Lessons
In the 1920s, many Americans were listening to Jazz and learning the Charleston. Henry Ford preferred the country dances he learned as a boy - quadrilles, gavottes, the schottische, the polka and the chorus jig were his favorites. Later in life he hosted dance lessons in Dearborn twice a week to teach what he believed was the correct, old way of dancing.
A Titan of American Industry Gives a Piggy Back Ride
Despite being hard on his only son Edsel, Henry Ford doted upon his grandchildren. Edsel's first son, Henry II, who would later become president of Ford Motor Company, is seen here at age two, playing with his grandfather in the garden at Fair Lane estate on June 9, 1920.
Henry Ford Chapter 1
The biography of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century, this documentary of Henry Ford offers an incisive look at the birth of the American auto industry with its long history of struggles between labor and management. Premiering January 29, 2012 at 9/8c on PBS.
Henry Ford Preview
The biography of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century, this documentary of Henry Ford offers an incisive look at the birth of the American auto industry with its long history of struggles between labor and management.
Henry Ford's Experiments with Auto Design
In early 1907, Henry Ford walled off a corner of his Piquette Avenue factory to be used for automotive development. Ford thought nothing of joining his workers on the factory floor to experiment with new engine ignition designs or suspension systems. Every few months, Ford released another automobile in his alphabet line, each improving upon the last.
Interview with Producer Sarah Colt
An interview with Sarah Colt, producer/writer/director for "Henry Ford." Premiering January 29, 2013 at 9/8c on PBS.
Henry Ford "Camping" with Edison and Firestone
For many years, Henry Ford took annual camping trips with the "vagabonds" - his close friends Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs - with an entourage of servants, photographers, friends and family often in tow. On several occasions a president even joined along - President Harding in 1921 and Coolidge in 1923. Here, the group dined around a giant lazy Susan during their 1923 trip.
The Ford Assembly Line
Inspired by the moving lines used at meat-packing plants, Ford’s factory tested an assembly line in the flywheel magneto department. Rather than having one person build a coil at a time, the supervisor broke down the individual tasks into a sequence driven by a conveyor. The new system reduced the time it took to make a magneto from twenty minutes to thirteen minutes, ten seconds.
The Model T
In October of 1908, Henry Ford introduced the newest addition to his alphabet line—the Model T. It had a four-cylinder, 20 horsepower engine, a vastly improved transmission and an ingenious magnetic generator that provided power for an ignition and lights. At a time when the average car cost more than two thousand dollars, the Model T sold for just eight hundred and fifty.
Ford's River Rouge Complex
The River Rouge factory complex took 10 years to build and was compromised of 93 buildings which housed 120 miles of conveyors. There were 15 miles of roadways and 100 miles of railroad within the plant just to move things around. Water pumped from the Detroit River supplied the complex with 700 million gallons a day—as much water as consumed by Detroit, Cincinnati and New Orleans combined.
Culebra Cut
When Goethals replaced Stevens as Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal, the bulk of the work still lay ahead. Goethals shifted priority to excavation of the Culebra Cut, making it a 24-hour operation. As many as 6,000 men were at work on the cut at any given time. Without any warning, landslides would occur and wipe out months of work in an instant, destroying machinery and burying workers alive.
The Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation pulled abolitionists like the former slave Frederick Douglass and the pacifist William Lloyd Garrison into full support of the war.
Lincoln's Uncertain Commitment to Emancipation
Would President Lincoln sign the Emancipation Proclamation? Abolitionists were unsure.
William Lloyd Garrison, Pacifism, and Abolitionism
By 1859, the conflict between North and South challenged Garrison's "peace man" status.
John Brown Puts His Accusers on Trial
In 1859 John Brown went on trial for the raid on Harpers Ferry. The raid itself had failed, but Brown successfully brought attention his cause.
What Was the Dred Scott Decision?
In 1857 the Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, a slave who sought freedom via the courts. With the ruling the Court radically altered not just the battle over slavery, but the status of every black person in America.
Slavery and the Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American war (1846-1848) changed the slavery debate. It almost doubled the size of the United States and began a debate, between Northerners and Southerners, over what to do with the newly acquired land.
Frederick Douglass Writes His Autobiography
In his 1845 book, Frederick Douglass told the truth about his life as a slave, despite the risk.
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