To introduce how the automobile had an effect on a city, I will begin with a brief history of Dearborn, Michigan when trade and expeditions occurred between the American Indian and explorers from France and England. I will then talk about Henry Ford the auto pioneer and his family’s migration to America and following through to the history of Detroit as an emerging leading industrial city. The city took upon itself a drastic change as I speak of the automobile from its early steam-powered models as developed in Europe and the introduction of the electric and then gasoline combustion models. This lead to the industrial boom in Detroit with the successful model T production, followed by the $5.00 per day wages. This had a tremendous effect on the workers and the community. Immigration from Eastern Europe and the middle East brought the labor machinery to the Ford Factory. This influx of people influenced housing and the neighborhoods, and fomented segregation, and even racism. While Ford had all the ingredients for his successful automobile empire, a particular mayor put Dearborn on the map, for his reign of power which led to the significant changes that can still be seen today.

The rich history of Dearborn’s early years goes back to a time when the Native Americans lived and dominated the land. The French and the British explorers who came to trade and explore the Detroit area brought with them about 300 years of struggle for the Great Lakes Indians. The French and the Indians became friends and they traded furs for exchange of trinkets, beads and other things. The French taught christianity to the Indians and some intermarriages took place. The British however, traded with the Indians but didn’t befriend them or associate with them socially.

During the American Revolution, the Indians sided with the British against the Americans. The early American settlers unlike the French didn’t come to trade, but they came to claim and take their land away. The Indians showed their loyalty to the British by giving them a large parcel of land around the Rouge River called "ribbon farms". This tract of land was fertile and suitable for farming. These farms are a part of the city of Dearborn today. In 1780, Dearborn was a vast wilderness. The French were the first to live on the "ribbon farms" along the Rouge River.The primary means of travel at that time was by cart, wagon, and by boat on the River. The means of travel as this time were slow, uncomfortable and very inconvienent.

In 1833 Springwells was renamed Dearbornville, after General Henry Dearborn who was a general in the war of 1812. In 1927 it merged with Fordson city and became officially named Dearborn.

In 1830 the Indians were moved out of Dearborn through the Removal Act of 1830. They were given land in a designated area west of Mississipi and were then marched to Kansas in a march known as the "Trial of Death"(20 Eaton) many of them unhappy to leave their homes, they fled to the Upper Peninsula and still others hid. In 1834, the completion of the Erie Canal brought many settlers to Dearbornville. The Germans were amongst the first to come because of the "potato famine in the old World"(20 Eaton). Joseph Theisen and his family were among the first to arrive in what is now Dearborn they had very little money, but they were able to prosper and grow by planting vegtables and flowers on their farm. They eventually had a successful florist business in Dearborn which was still operating until a few years ago.

In 1876, the historian William A. Nowlin, wrote his famous account of pioneer life in the Dearborn area, in a book called "The Bark Covered House" (26 Eaton), or "Back in the woods Again". He describes the real pioneer life in the wilderness of Michigan. Fifty years prior to the book William and his family set out of Putnam County, New York for Dearborn Township. It took the Nowlin family eight weeks to make the trip in 1833-34. When the Nowlins arrived, property was being sold at $1.25 an acre. The senior Nowlin purchased 80 acres of land on which he built the bark covered house for the family to live in. They were among the first to migrate to Dearbornville via Erie Canal up to the Detroit River then by wagon cart to the village. The journey was long and treacherous but they were grateful to come to Dearborn because of the fertile farm land.

Many of the streets in the now Madison and Grindley Park area in the historic District of Dearborn still bear the names of the early land owners and settlers. Another family that was Scotch and Irish that migrated to the Dearborn area in the Southeastern area was William and Mary Ford the parents of Henry Ford. The birth place of Henry Ford was located on a farm on Greenfield and Ford Road. Mr. Ford born in 1863, was in later years to become the millionaire auto pioneer, and the resident of Henry Ford Fairlane Mansion. He also was to become the owner of a large parcel of land and many business interests in that area.

In 1837, the Michigan Central Railroad came to Dearbornville from Detroit. This brought much excitement, progress and growth to Dearborn. It made life a littler easier for the early settlers. It provided work for the farmers like clearing farms for the tracks and cutting down trees to be sold as logs and wood for the locomotives for fuel. The settelers enjoyed watching the train pass through the town and watched for its arrival at the station. It was fondly named the "iron horse". Hotels such as the Dearborn hotel were built near the track to accomdate passengers. Stagecoaches became obsolete with the coming of the train. The railroads brought many changes to the old settlements. People were able to travel from city to city in greater comfort and faster speed. It developed more busineses such as hotels and restaurants.

In 1833, The Detroit Arsenal was moved from Detroit and was rebuilt in Dearborn because Dearborn had a less populated area. The arsenal consisted of eight buildings two of which still remain today. The building of these structures helped the village to grow and prosper. Brick making was the main industry during that time and people came from all around the village to help build the Armory and to supply bricks.

Timberland was in abundance along the old Sauk trail that later became Chicago Road then Michigan Ave. After the Nowlins arrival in Dearborn the Pardees, the Snows and the Gulleys were among those who sparsely populated the area. Many of the streets of Dearborn still bear the names of these early settelers. The U.S. Arsenal brought significant changes to the township in 1833, which was completed in 1839. The 230-acre 11 building installation fronted Michigan Ave. bounded by Monroe St. the commandant’s quarters headed byJoshua Howard is the building that houses The Dearborn Historical Museum today.

At the end of the Civil War, many of the settlers returned home in the Dearborn area. The families were of German descent, they came from Europe and some came from the state of Pennsylavania. Some of those families are still well known today, such as the Wagners whose family name appears on a drugstore on Michigan Avenue and Monroe. The new settelers were very industrious. A man by the name of Blankortz opened a blacksmith. Others opened various shops and stores and some became merchants. In the 1880s, and the turn of the century, as now, a variety of businesses thrived then as they do now along Michiagn Ave. and Mason Street. Some old timers that I interviewed still recall some of the merchants that had shops in that area.

When Michigan Central Railroad system came to Dearborn a new line was created in 1837. "The busy tracks, just south of Michigan Ave. still carry both passengers and freight cars through the city". (Austin) April 1975. In 1898, the "Ypsilanti," an electric interurban line between Detroit, Dearborn, AnnArbor, and Jackson bought more life and made traveling a easier. It brought urban and city dwellers closer together, people were able to go to work and shop using the interurban train. In 1906, the line was sold to Detroit Railways.

While the city of Detroit was having an industrial revolution and booming in population, Henry Ford who was to become Dearborn’s most influential automotive genius, was just getting started. I will give a brief history and background sketch about Ford and his family. Henry Ford was born on July 30 1863, in Greenfield Township on Michigan Avenue in what is now Dearborn. His family migrated from Cork, Ireland in 1847, because of the potato famine in Ireland. They bought land near the Rouge River which was a days journey to Detroit by an ox team. The main means of travel was on the old Indian Sauk trail that connected Detroit to Dearborn. Dearborn had gotten its name after General Henry Dearborn an American Revolution war hero of 1812. Dearborn at the time of the potato famine of Ireland was a small village which had about 60 families and consisted of a foundry, a sawmill, and a smithy with a plank Road going through this little settlement.

When Henry Ford was seven years old, he attended a Scotch School Settlement which was a mile and a half from home. He liked math but disliked reading. Later he went to Miller School which remained in Dearborn until 1997. Although Henry didn’t like school, he liked machines and was intrigued by the work that can be done on them. He always liked to "tinker" with tools and watches even at the early age of 10. He liked to work with different kinds of tools and wheels which he loved to take apart and put back together. when Henry became a young man his father offered him eighty acres of land to farm. He wanted Henry to settle down and to get him interested in farming which Henry didn’t particularly like. Henry accepted the land but still didn’t want to be farmer, he then told his father he would rather go to work in Detroit in a machine shop as a mechanic. At the time that Henry decided to go to Detriot, it was period in which Detroit was hustling and bustling with many industries. This suited young Henry who was very fascinated with machines and such. I will illustrate some of the city’s history.

Detroit was the oldest city in the Middle West making it 299 years old today. Its name was derived from a French word meaning strait. It ‘s located on a narrow waterway that connects Lake Erie with Lake Huron. The Great Lakes were a way for ships to pass through to many destinations. From the very start Detroit was founded by the French voyagers who founded the farthest outposts of the Great Lakes Region to establish fur trade routes. Cadillac, was among the first business pioneer and the first to begin free enterprise. He was after beaver fur. He stepped out of the canoe in the French tradition and planted "the lilies of France upon the virgin soil of old Detroit."(8 Stark) It was said that

"to the River came those who were dreamers and the doers." (8) Detroit had many steamboats to carry its cargo and heavy load on the Great Lakes. It was a booming city that had a great water frontage and some of the earliest railroad lines running through it. The railroad and locomotives ran from Detroit and Pontiac as early as 1830. These early locomotives were pulled by a horse on a specific path between the railroads. Horses had to be changed every four miles. They were soon replaced by steam locomotives which replaced the horse in 1837 and made travel faster. By 1879, there were ten railroads from U. S. and Canada. When Henry Ford went to work in a machine shop as a mechanic in Detroit, there were over 100,000 people living there and the city covered approximately 70 square miles. The waterfront along the Detroit River had fine homes with lovely gardens and orchards surrounding it. It also harbored factories and about 80 miles of cobblestone and wooden streets. Gas and oil lamps were used at this time to light the streets and electricity was used only in factories,stores and some homes. Horse-drawn streetcars, were used for personal transportation and from city to city. Interurban cars were developed they were small and were also horse drawn. The first streetcar line in Detroit was built in Port Huron in 1886. This provided many with transportation to and from work while the railroads were the means of travel for farther trips. During this period the first telephones were being used along with many other industrial businesses, which made Detroit all the more fascinating and enterprising for the young Henry Ford.

Henry Ford’s first job was in a machine shop at the Michigan Car Company. He worked there for only six days. Some experienced mechanics were upset by his knowledge of machines. He repaired a machine in an hour that usually took the other employees all day to do. He learned his lesson from that job and later said "I learned then not to tell all you know," (20 Kelly). He worked at a couple of other various jobs. He worked at Flower Brothers as an apprentice and repaired watches to earn extra money. Henry learned a lot about machines from his job. He also helped to run some farm machinery around his neighboring farms.

In 1888 Henry Ford came back to Dearborn and married Clara Bryant. His father William thought that Henry would be content as a farmer and settle down with his new bride. He cleared his land on the farm had a small house built and sold the rest of the logs to the mill. Henry didn’t do any farming on his land. He had a workshop where he repaired machinery for himself and his neighbors. He was also experimenting with steam and gas engines at thar time. His dream was to build a "horse less carriage." In time he told his wife Clara, that he would like to move to Detroit where he would have more opportunity to work on his ideas of building a’" horseless carriage" Clara had asked him to draw what it would look like. She had believed in him and had said "I can see how it would work, I am sure you can build it"(29 Kelly). Shortly afterward, he had been offered a job as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company in 1891. Although Clara loved the farm she agreed to move to Detroit in with him. While Henry Ford was thinking of the horseless carriage, many advances were already being made and had already begun in Europe.

During the later part of the 1700s the steam-powered engines were beginning to emerge rapidly in Europe. Many inventors dreamed of a steam powered "horseless carriage". Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French military engineer built a self propelled road vehicles in 1769 -70. One of the vehicles was designed for passengers the other for artillery. Countless attempts to use and develop steam powered cars failed because of competition from railroad and stagecoach companies in England as early as 1865.These early models were very noisy, smokey and many times they frightened horses and carriages. The "Red Flag Law" which only allowed the car to travel 4 miles an hour on country roads and no more than 2 miles an hour in the city slowed travel. Also a man had to warn the approach of the car, by having a signal man walk ahead of the vehicle to signal its coming by swinging a red flag by day and a red lantern at night. This practice hindered the growth and development of the automobile further in England for at least 30 years.

During the 1860s, the American innovator, Sylvester H. Roper, invented a much smaller car that was powered by steam. This caught the attention of many companies and steam cars grew rapidly especially the famous Stanley steamer. This company was founded by Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley.

Steam driven cars had their share of disadvantages. The time to heat the boiler took too long. This problem was solved but the engine size was another problem. To be practical for cars, the steam engines had to be small but demanded a tremendous amount of steam pressure for the power they needed. The realization was that this new power technology, namely the practical steam engine cost too much to build and maintain. This eventually caused the decline of steam-powered cars. The Stanley brother’s company, the only remaining steam-car companies went bankrupt in 1924.

Following the steam-powered cars were the electric cars. The first electric cars emerged in Europe during the 1800’s. Americans found favor in the electric models.

An electric car is powered by batteries that are rechargeable in which energy stored in batteries is converted to mechanical energy. There are many advantages and disadvantages to using electric. Firstly, one advantage to using electric cars is that they produce virtually no pollutants. The use of batteries limited the consumption of petroleum resource. These cars when driven were quieter and can be recharged when the owner was at home or at work. Disadvantages include limited milage which usually lasted for only 10 miles before a recharge of batteries and they were expensive, and had poor acceleration.

The majority of "horseless carriages" around New York were electric. "The odds were very heavily against the noisy, greasy, bucking gasoline buggy that many were supportive of the electric and Stanley twins steam carriage."(27 Stark)

In Germany, for example the first gasoline vehicle was built in 1885 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. In the mid 90s, France and Britain had also experimented with cars. While the Europeans were getting more advanced in the auto technology the American car entrepreneur had only a slight foundation.

During the 1890s "The horse less Carriage Era" (155 Hill) Frank and Charles Duryea built the first "horse less carriage" Charles was the first to conceive the idea of the self propelled vehicle. It went for 200 feet before it stopped working. These two brothers built the first successful gasoline-powered car in America. This was a single-cylinder model which made a trial run in 1893 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Charles and Frank Duryea formed the Duryea Motor Wagon Company which was located in Springfield in 1895. The company produced 13 cars in 1896. Later, Frank Duryea joined the Stevens Arms company where the four- and six-cylinder engines were designed and manufactured.

Many of the Americans who pioneered in the auto industry were accomplished in some other technical manufacturing business. Albert A. Pope for example converted his bicycle shop to produce motor vehicles. Other existing companies that manufactured sewing machines, metal fabrication plants and machine shops started to build cars. These early car makers were knowledgeable people who were experienced in management skills, had capital, and skilled labor that were able to make car production a possibility. Henry Ford for an example was a trained machinist. He got most of his ideas about motor cars from European car magazines. Henry Ford with the assistance of Charles King and Oliver E. Barchel built his first car. In 1896, he built the "quadricycle."

The gasoline engine was preferred because of the low cost of gasoline however, it was not clean or easy to start. The American auto industry was established officially in 1897. There were several successful men that emerged to form the beginning of the American auto industry. These included: H. ford, Leland Buick, Maxwell. Olds (REO), Cadillac, Hudson, Packard, Studebaker, and Overland and Marmon. Although the beginnings of the car came from Europe, the important contributions that the American car producers made, were mass production and the organization of big enterprises. Henry Ford ran his first car in 1896 in Detroit and founded Ford Motor Co. in 1903. In 1908, the Model T was a success it was mass produced for a large market. The assembly line, mass production and other components were vital in helping him achieve tremendous success in the auto mobile industry.

Of the sources of energy needed to power the car none proved to be more undesirable than the gasoline powered engine. In my exhaustive research I found the reason behind this to be rather ironic. I was reading a chapter about the dawn of the gasoline engine only to realize that two events occurred by two different incidents that lead to the gas engine preference. Ransom E. Olds, an inventor and manufacturer of gasoline engines and steam boilers was also working on a horseless carriage. Then a fire burned one of his first big automobile plant in Detroit called the Olds Motor Works. A Roadster was saved from the burning fire. The car that was saved from the fire was used to make new patterns for more gas powered cars and soon 425 cars were produced.

Meanwhile in Texas in the year 1901, a 160 foot geyser of oil was shot into the air while an unsuspecting Anthony F. Lucas was drilling for oil. The two events were miraculously coincidental but were well timed for the gasoline engine needed the petroleum that Lucas’ discovery brought about. While the oil that was discovered was used for petroleum and such gasoline was an unwanted by-product. It was usually placed in a lake and set on fire or dumped in the lakes. It was a very cheap commodity that could provide fuel for the gasoline engine cars. The gas engine was preferred because it was cheaper to use then steam and electric powered engines. I think if other types of engines were pursued for example the electric engine, we would have a cleaner, less polluted and noisy environment which is turn would be more beneficial to our health. We also wouldn’t have global warming from pollution and the energy crisis.

By the turn of the century it was believed that at least 300 Americans were working on some kind of self-propelled road vehicle to replace the horse. Technologically, the US was the most advanced at this time as far as communication and transportation was concerned. Industry in Detroit came before the gas engine and Automobile factories. The river front provided the mechanisms that were necessary to transport materials to factories and foundries.

In the 1850s iron and logs were being shipped down the river to sawmills from the Upper Peninsula to sawmills. Many homeowners built homes near the railroads on Jefferson and Congress. A man from Detroit Mr. James Joy bought the Wabash

Railroad in 1881 to the city. It "carries all types of products including refrigerated foods and products that were transported to the Detroit Produce Terminal which is still in existence on Fort Street today. Many new and exciting things were being invented and developed for example: Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone, Thomas Edison’s incandescent electric light and many more things were happening. Detroit had the right ingredients like steel for factories to thrive on. George R. Fink for example, thought of and organized The Michigan Steel Corp. which later came to known as The Great lakes Corporation on the Detroit River. "The Mid-West men were trained to work hard, they had education, religion and the vision of the future." (6 Hill)

In the 1900s the city of Detroit, was slowly developing into the center of the Automobile Industry. There were a group of industrial business men that included Henry Ford, John Horace Dodge, Cadillac Motor Company, and Ransom E. OIds they were among the some of first to succeed in Detroit. The reason that the industry grew and was successful resulted from the many foundries, shops and skilled men that lived in the city. The era of the automobile was about to begin. From 1900-1903 some of the leading early car models were made in Dearborn and Detroit . They included the Paige, Maxwell and the Saxon car. The Olds Motor Works and Cadillac Motor Company had produced over a 1000 cars before Henry Ford had sold a single car. Although Henry Ford’s "Quadricycle" was built in 1896, he didn’t succeed in selling it . Then in 1902 he made the racing car "old 99" which broke many speed records, the race drew the attention of Alex Y. Malcomson, a prosperous wood and coal dealer in Detroit. Malcomson saw a future in car manufacturing and he met with Ford and assured him of his financial support. By 1903 Ford had the financial support and the right partners to start the Ford Motor Company. The plant was a little one story building on Mack Ave. It had 10 eager workers who merely earned $1.50 a day and they began to make the Model A. There were many disagreements and patent problems so that by 1905, he decided to make his own engines and the motor parts. He terminated his dealings with the Dodge brothers and Alex Malcomson and formed the Ford Manufacturing Company in 1905. By the year 1907 the Ford motor Co. had made many models of cars from the letter A to S. These car models were selling for less than a $1000. He was making a profit.

Ford had become an established automobile manufacturer in1907, he decided to build a plant in Highland park on 60 acres. At the new plant Ford planned to build and manufacture just one type of car. The car was the Model T. He wanted to improve the car each year, therefore making it cheaper and affordable to purchase. Ford didn’t have the cheapest car even at this time. It was stated that the cars most important features weren’t Ford’s inventions. His objectives were: to build a car that’s simple to operate and maintain a car that could be made affordable for most families; and the notion of replacing the "family horse" with a motor car. He wanted the average working man to have a car to drive to work, church, school and to go to town when they pleased. The Model-T production began in 1908, many other car dealers and businessmen were in disbelief of manufacturing just one car model, they were sure it would be a disaster and the company would fold up. Although the Model-T was a "homely-looking" car; it came in only one color which was black, it was easy to drive and to handle the bad roads, with holes and ruts that were common at that time. It could be easily maintained and repaired by farmer or mechanic.

Unlike the expensive European cars which were expensive and made for the wealthy. The first week of production of the Model-T proved to be a success, more than a thousand cars were sold. The company was making more than a hundred cars a day "this was four times as many cars as any other manufacturer was making at that time."(400 Lewis). The car wasn’t popular in the early years because of the road conditions and there simply wasn’t enough roads in existence and the ones they had were rutted and muddy, people often didn’t like driving on them. People that drove in the early years ran into many problems for example there wasn’t any road signs or boundaries. It was diffcult to determine where a city started and where it ended,a motorist often got lost. Drivers who ventured in the car often got lost, or stuck in the sand or mud.

In 1906, Henry Ford ran into some problems with his investors and he had to buy out some of his stockholders. Some of the stockholders preferred and voiced their opinon that car production should be confined to the larger more expensive cars. Ford investors believed that the large and heavy wooden body lined with steel should be used in place of the relatively smaller, lightweight, stronger and less expensive vanadium and steel body. The Model-T weighed only1200 pounds, had a 100-inch wheelbase and was able to clear the road by 101/2 inches. It had a body that sat high on a transverse arc springs, and a roof that rode 7 feet above the pavement. These features allowed it a "maxim euphonize" to operate on the rudimentary roads of that period. The Model-T was able to go 45 miles an hour, and drove for 20-miles on one gallon of gas. In June 1909, the Model-T, traveled for 4,100 miles from New York to Seattle in only 22 days under appalling weather and terrible road conditions. This trip was a great advancement for the automobile. The same trip which was traveled by B. T. Fitch in a Packard car, in1903, took 55 days to drive the same distance.

Ford and his staff of engineers designed, built and bought tools to set up in his new plant. The new larger factory located in Highland Park, in which Ford had planned to produce only the Model-T. At the new plant they were able to perform a number of machining operations which could produce cars faster and in great numbers. Cars were manufactured by the thousands by using the "assembly line" where the parts of the automobile moved slowly on the conveyer belts and were brought to each worker to place a part on the car. This method was more successful than the previous method where each mechanic or engineer was required to fit each part to either the motor or the car this method proved to be less efficient and it cost more money and time. Another idea that Ford utilized with the new tools was to make car parts in a "standardized identical way or Interchangeable parts." (401 Lewis) the parts that were manufactured were made with exact precision and skill to be able to fit any car of that model. The interchangeable parts simplified and accelerated production. "This system of production has now come to be called mass production." (401 Lewis) Although the idea wasn’t invented by Ford he certainly put it to use successfully. These operations were so outstanding that by 1914, Ford was producing approximately 1/2 of the nation’s cars. He also had almost one-sixth of the automotive labor force. Ford assembly plants were being built across the nation, this permitted the company to ship parts, and engine components instead of the completed cars. The shipping of parts reduced transportation costs in half.

The total number of Model-Ts sold in the first year of production was more than 10,000 an unprecedented number and reached approximately two million a year by 1923-25. By the year 1927, about 151/2 million Modl-ts were sold. It was the most popular and famous model ever sold. The success of Ford Factory was instrumental in bringing immigrants to Detroit and surrounding cities and the inevitable growth of the suburbs.

By 1913, Detroit was fast becoming the center of automotive industry. The advantages of water from the Great Lakes and the rivers, land transportation, along with numerous factories, and machine shops which had already been established there for sometime where the ingredients for its success. The manufacturing of carriages, freight, Pullman cars, and locomotives which were developed there helped put it on the map. The three main automobile companies that were also established in the Detroit area were Henry Ford, Ransom E. Olds and Henry Leland also contributed to its growth and further developments. Although, Detroit had lured many immigrants from Europe to work in its many industries, it was not enough to compensate for termnedous growth of the automotive industry incurred by 1910, the demand was greater than the number of laborers.

In December of 1913, Henry Ford noticed that there discontent amongst his employees, he felt that they were not satisfied with their wages which were $2.30 a day that some were receiving. Some employees were making as little as a dollar a day. He met with his partners and dicussed raising his workers wages to a substantial amount. After they met they decided to increase the minimum wage to $5.00 a day and to implement profit sharing for his employees that were over the age of twenty-two. In addition to the five-dollar workday he instituted the 8-hour workday instead of the nine and a half workday. He set up three shifts consisting of eight hours each. This announcement made headlines the next day in the newspaper. The working public were very pleased and it was a start of a new revolution. The 5-dollar a day was the most advanced labor policy in the world. By increasing work wages to $5.00 a day, "In a single week, Henry Ford became a world figure."(163 Lewis) Ford felt that this was good advertising for his car, and would advertently allow more workers to buy the Model-T. His idea was to pay the factory workers higher wages, which was a key factor in making the car universally available. HenryFord states " I expect to get more efficient labor because living standards will be raised, and the men will be satisfied to work."(98 Kelly) He also thought that his workers will work harder and better with higher wages. He hoped that this wage increase would also extend to other industries.

The $5.00 wages brought thousands of workers to the Ford Motor company in Highland Park for employment. About 10,000 men came to the gates of the factory the following day for recruitment. A riot broke out as many men came rushing at the gates. They fought the guards and police were called to help contain the crowds. Fire houses were used to disperse the crowd. To keep the crowds down and get less transient workers, Henry Ford issued a new rule the workers had to be residents of Dearborn for at least six months.

The Rouge Plant was built on the Rouge River in Dearborn, Mi. which made it very convenient for the cargo ships to bring supplies to the river. After world War I it became the center for Ford Industry. The success of the Automotive factories and the numerous industries in and around the Detroit area brought a tremendous amount of immigrants to Dearborn. The Poles were one of the first to arrive in Michigan and many worked at the Dodge Motor Company, which was located in Detroit. Many of the Poles liked to buy and own their homes. They usually lived close to their place of employment, they liked a well kept home with a small vegetable garden. In addition to the Poles many Germans, Russians, and Austrians came to America because of crop failures or political problems in their perspective countries.

Many of the new immigrants that came to this country were peasants and didn’t have any education. They were mostly young adolescents males that were ignorant and over-whelmed by their new surroundings and the new language, and the different lifestyle that was different then their own. These foreigners often lived in unhealthy crowded conditions in poor slums. The Ford Motor Company attracted even people like the Finnish families who originally came to work in Michigan’s sawmills, to do logging and to work in the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula. When labor problems occurred in 1913-1914, many came to work in the factories in Dearborn, especially the Packard Car Company. Many of them that came lived in and around the Detroit area. Some of the women opened small shops for themselves such dress shops and tailoring. Many of the other services such as carpenters, mechanics and sheet metal workers. Some became professionals such as dentists, lawyers and engineers.

In 1904 others came such as the Serbians, Croatian, Rumanians, Lithuanians, and Yugoslavians. They all came to work at the auto factories, the railroads, meat packing plants, tool shops, foundries, and some even opened their own bakeries and coffee houses. The numerous industries as well as the automotive plants brought many foreigners to the city of Detroit. The growing cities needed other businesses such as: bakeries, tailors, shops, restaurants, stores, meat markets, laundries, and much more. Many other services that were pertenent to their lives such as: horse drawn milk carriages, ice deliveries for ice boxes, laundry wagons, brick layers, masons, carpenters, were all necessary to help build and provide for the fast growing city. It’s interesting to find that people from different countries liked to preform different jobs and services. The Greeks that came in 1907 to Detroit for example liked to work in factories for a short while but then built their own shops, coffee houses, grocery stores with ethnic foods, and some drove wagons with fresh fruits and vegetables to homemakers. The Greeks were clannish people they built their own schools. hospitals and churches. Some of the younger Greek women worked as sales people, some worked on sewing machines in the auto factories.

The Jewish people came to Michigan in the 1760s, they belonged to many nationality groups. Many came from European nations. They were poor when they immigrated to America, they worked in port cities. They later became merchants and owned general stores. In the early 1900s many lived on the east side of Detroit on Woodward Ave. the older section of the city. They usually moved to "former suburbs and developed on the outer perimeter of the growing city." (474 Lewis) The newer generations bought bought new homes and spread into the suburbs. When they left their homes in Detroit, the Blacks who then began moving into Detroit started to move in to the areas that were vacated by the Jews. This area became " one heavy black segregation as more Jewish people moved from the area." (474 Lewis ) Many Jewish people liked to be self-employed, they didn’t like factory work. They preferred work in stores, clothing shops, wholesale dealers and dealers in scrap.

The Italians that came to Detroit from1850-1880. Many came to the Southern part of the state. they lived in close knit communities. Many worked in the Auto factories, dug sewers, street cleaning and many had businesses of their own, such as selling fruits and vegetables in wagons.

By 1915 the auto factories and other industries were employing thousands of workers. The demand for workers increased and soon many Blacks joined in the industry and Detroit had the largest Black population. As late as 1910, the population consisting of Blacks living in Detroit was approximately 6000. The Blacks worked as porters on trains, waiters, and blacksmiths, or elevator operators. Many Black women did domestic work in homes, hotels and offices. Although they were employed among the White people, they had their own culture, churches, and social institutes. Only a small number that migrated to Michigan had worked in mining, lumbering or farming. Michigan’s Blacks were descendent of the Blacks that had migrated to Michigan either before or after the Civil War. Most of these early migrants had received an education in the Public Schools.

The Black families living in Northern Michigan were fairly prosperous while the Blacks living in the South were poor and lived in poverty and had very few political or social rights. The Blacks were treated with discriminations and not with equality. A couple of organizations were formed to help bring equality to Blacks. The NAACP was formed to help bring equality and reduce prejudice, improve social positions and economic growth. In 1920, New York City established the National Urban League which was organized to eliminate discrimination and to improve employment conditions. Many other cities followed suit later in the century.

Henry Ford’s treatment of Blacks was progressive. The first Black man hired at the Ford Motor Plant was in 1914 by the name of William Perry. Perry was an old friend of Ford’s who had worked at his farm. The number of Black workers steadily increased in number at the plant until they reached about 10% of the work force. During World War I, when men joined in the war effort to fight in Europe, the factories turned to the South to hire the Black man. The Southern Blacks traveled North to Michigan to work. Many worked at the Ford Motor plant. Ford believed that "races should labor as partners, merit not color should govern promotions." (104 Kelly) Although Ford employed Blacks he didn’t provide any advancements or better paying jobs because of their lack of education, technical skills, and color. Housing also proved to be a problem for Blacks in the North as it had been in the South. Most of them even the ones making higher wages in the factories were not allowed to live in better neighborhoods. Racial discriminations by whites forced Blacks to live in the inner city areas vacated by other nationality groups that had moved to the suburbs. They were segregated against and there wasn’t much communication between the two races and between communities. Segregation and discriminations increased because many Northern felt that the Blacks coming from the South were taking jobs away from them. As Blacks increased in number, a Black cultural development called the Harlem Renaissance was organized in Harlem. It was made up of "First-rate colored composers and writers wrote music, plays and books". In Michigan the Renaissance was also acknowledge and it flowed into White society where some themes were incorporated by whites

During the early years of the many migrating to Detroit there was little public concern for the health of the Black population and as other ethnic groups. There were very few Black physicians to care for the sick until after World War One, then the number increased gradually. Black physicians weren’t allowed to practice in hospitals until they began building hospitals of their own in Detroit and other cities, which changed their situation.

Henry Ford noticed that employees working in his factory had bad hygiene and unhealthy habits. He developed a Sociological department in 1913, to deal with disgruntled workers. John Lee, was in charge of this program to initiate various programs such as good hygiene and counseling. The shortage of housing, over-crowding and city slums made disease and illness rampant. In the blue collar district every room in all the houses was taken, where at least 4 people slept in a room. Indoor plumbing was rare, garbage was piled up and unsightly. The children roamed the streets there weren’t any parks or playgrounds for children.

The auto industry had brought Immigration to a maximum to the Detroit area. the influx of automobile factories workers caused the population of the city of Detroit and surrounding cities including Dearborn to double within five years. Many different nationality groups such as Russians, Croats, Italians,Poles and Hungarians, crowded neighborhoods. These new-comers spoke their own language, retained their customs, "because they were ignorant and bewildered, they were savagely exploited" (57 Gelderman). It was this type of life that Henry Ford wanted to change. The Social Engineers he hired told Ford workers that in order to receive wages they had to be " men would have to prove they were sober, saving , steady, and industrious," (57 Gelderman). The men from the Sociological department were hired to go to employees homes to check on them and give them guidance on how to spend their money wisely. Families were taught hygiene and were shown how to take care of their homes to keep them clean and neat. They were told how save money and shop wisely. All vices such as drinking and gambling were discouraged in order for men to save and work proficiently. The Sociological Dept. was meant to help employees raise their standard of living. Many people criticized Ford, for the way he tried to control his workers lives. They didn’t want outsiders prying into their lives. The men from the Psychological Dept. were tactless, at times they didn’t handle the people without offending them. They were under Henry Ford’s direction to help his workers to adjust to American customs and have a better life. Ford merely wanted his workers to own a comfortable home with a bath, have a garden and own an auto, preferably a Model-T. Some of the workers however liked living in slum conditions. They were usually accustomed to crowded conditions and they liked their neighborhoods the way they were and didn’t mind the lack of privacy. To further improve his employees life he started an English School in 1914, which all immigrants had to attend. The school was at the Ford Plant to teach the immigrant workers how to speak English. He wanted the immigrants to become citizens, in order to do so they had to learn English. He also wanted the workers to learn English to be able to read instructions at work. A trade school was started for boys to attend part as part of the work day to learn a technical education.

After 1914, his name became a verb to "Fordize" which meant to do things his way. The noun "Fordism" meant passing profits to his workers and consumers at the same time making a lot of profit by mass production. In 1915, Ford bought 2000 acres in Southesat Dearborn along the Rouge River to build a larger factory because the Highland Park Plant didn’t have room to expand. He wanted to build "a self-contained manufacturing unit: where ore would be carried down the Great Lakes on Ford Ships to a Ford plant to be built on the Rouge River, where blast furnaces, foundries, open hearths, steel mills, and an array of plants and assembly lines the whole process would be turning raw materials into finished automobiles."(73 Gelderman) In order to build this huge complex without getting loans he would have to cut dividends to finance the expansion. The withholding of dividends to stockholders eventually lead to the resignation of James Cozen the vice-president of

Ford Company. This left Henry Ford in full control of the company. The Dodge Brothers whom Ford had purchased parts for his automotive plant for many years sued the Ford Motor Company for "reckless reduction of prices of the company’s products." Because of Ford’s gradual reduction of the Model-T which was reduced from $950 in 1909 to $240 in 1925, the price reduction also meant the Dodge brothers had to reduce the price of the parts and engines that Ford purchased from them. This was not their intention to sell parts for a reduced price. They had an ulterior motive to forming their own auto plant.

The Automobile Industries contributed to the War efforts of the First World War. The Highland Park Plant was used to make ambulances and helmets for the war. They built engines for airplanes, tanks and a new type of ship to hunt submarines called "Eagle Boats" which were built at the Rouge Plant. The plant’s growth rapidly increased with the war efforts. The automobile factories had a great impact on Detroit, Dearborn and many of the surrounding cities. After World War 1, many more immigrants began coming to United States and many came to Dearborn to work at the new Rouge Plant. Many of the immigrants were political refuges from Russia who fled the communist government. As hundreds crowded the cities to live, more housing was in demand and cities began to grow outward, an expansion that has not yet stopped. That was the onset of the suburbs in the Detroit area and the U. S.

The new subdivisions, mostly single homes began to spread out ward to what used to be neighboring farmlands. Some of these new suburbs were later annexed to older cities but most became cities or suburbs of their own. Highland Park, Hamtramck, Livonia, Warren, Southgate, and Southfield were some of the first suburbs.

As auto workers prospered during the period from 1910-1930 many bought frame houses, built on narrow lots. Those who had more influential positions built their homes in the new more expensive suburbs. The upper and middle class people left the old cities others with less income moved into the former homes. Gradually the lower income groups moved to the vacated older homes in the inner city. each nationality group often followed the other in occupying the older homes. Other homes became boarding homes occupied primarily by men who worked in factories. These properties were often owned by landlords that just wanted to get high rents and didn’t care about up keeping the property. Homes in these areas slowly began to deteriorate with unkept lawns, trash piled up in alleys, and the narrow streets were over-crowded with cars. The population of the inner city increased and housing became more crowded, these slum areas became a problem in Michigan’s industrial cities. Dearborn was not an exception. the South end part of Dearborn became over-crowded and like I mentioned before it became the area associated with the foreign born residents. The immigrants found contentment within their own nationality groups, the pressure from other groups to have them change their customs and habits was a constant challenge. Workers were often ridiculed by their manner of dress, and their broken English. Henry Ford tried to remedy some of these social customs with the English he provided for his employees. Also Ford’s Sociological Department was also a great effort to help improve his employees quality of life, because very often the American social customs differed tremendously from the customs in which they had been raised.

In 1920, Henry Ford built 250 homes in Southwest Dearborn, to accomodate the population explosion that was taking place in Dearborn. He wanted to provide his employees with the best housing with the latest modern conveniences. Ford had these homes built in different price ranges, stipulating that each resident own an empty lot across the street to have as a garden and orchard for a period of 50 years. In Dearborn’s local newspaper it was stated that in a national publication in the 1920s, Fordson city what is now Dearborn was described as the fastest growing community in the nation due to the Ford Rouge Plant. The rapid growth stemmed from the industrial boom and the burgeoning auto industry and the moving of the workers from the Highland Park Plant to River Rouge Plant in Dearborn. The workers moved from Highland Park at first, then from the Southern states, and finally from around the world which resulted in Dearborn’s swelling population.

As houses sprang up there was also a rapid build up of stores and offices on four major streets surrounding the East Dearborn area bounded by Michigan Avenue and Schaefer Street. Greenfield, still called Town Line Road in the 20s and Ford Road drew the smaller commercial establishments. In spite of the the town’s rapid growth the neighborhood maintained high quality standards. The land developers were allowed to take any short cuts. they were required to install sewer lines and pave streets before any new home was approved to go up. In the Dearborn Guide newspaper it described some of the city’s richest history and how it can still be studied by looking at the fine homes built in the twenties and the early families that settled North of the River in what is known as "old Dearborn". Property was sold first South of Michigan for farms and family homes and later the land north of the Rouge River was available to sell. A couple of homes along Alexandrine still have a tower entrances these homes were built especially for Mr. Ford’s executives. Each home is completely different with pillars leaded glass windows conventional and Tudor style home designs. Most of the residents at that time drove their cars mostly the Model-T to Detroit to do their shopping and did their other shopping needs at the Dearborn Public Market for their vegetables fresh meats.

Between 1919-1930, the population in Fordson City grew 1000% from 2,500 people to 50,000 people by 1930 resulting from the Rouge Plant and later in 1927 the Graham -Paige Motors Corporation. The city was only an eight square mile area which was made up of Germans and Hungarians who were among the first wave to come, followed by Rumanians, Bulgarians, Poles, Italians, Greeks and Middle Eastern Arabs.

The Southern and Western boundaries of Dearborn is the oldest part of the city bounded by a Chrysler Plant at Ford and Wyoming, the tracks of the Detroit Trunk Railroad and Tireman and Wyoming, was part of the cities of Springwells and Fordson. Industry dominated this part of town, there’s no schools, churches or recreational facilities. The numerous vacant lots particularly south of Warren Road indicates that this is not a residential neighborhood. The people living there have single dwelling homes that were constructed in the 20s, though a small number live there they are of a wide cultural diversity.

The area known as the South-end" became Dearborn’s " melting pot, " for his employees. The area had two schools which were Salina and Roulo which were built in the 1920s. An additional school that was purchased was called the Rougemere. The car industry took a different texture from the rest of Dearborn many ethnic people lived in this heavily industrial area they were "isolated" from the rest of Dearborn because of their diversity. The people living around the Rouge Plant were of a lower socioeconomic group and they often felt looked down upon by their more affluent neighbors . They didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the city. This feeling still prevails even today, the residents of the South-end are often people of foreign birth. (Macguffey) The people living in the area nearest the Rouge Plant on a street called Salina still feel barriers both mental and geographical which prevented citizens living in the South end from participating in the social organizational life of Dearborn. The city was divided according the income status and nationality groups. The new comers living in the Southeastern part of the city with heavy industrialism to East Dearborn that was middle class Poles, Germans and Italians. The West-end of the city or old Dearborn was for the more affluent. This was the section that was reserved for Henry Ford’s executives.

Although Ford hired Blacks discrimination and segregation of Blacks prevailed in Dearborn for many years. Henry Ford was often thought of as an idealist, which according to critic Michael Mcgee, ideologies can be expressed as "structures of ideas that work to convince us to participate in the social system"(1). He also says, "Ideologies function as rhetoric. That is, they persuade people to share in systems of belief they had no part in choosing" (Mcgee, 1). I maintain that citizens have been influenced and have for over four decades internalized and still continue to support a racist, inflammatory ideological perspective which has been propagated by the hegemony of the dominant political group in office in Dearborn. The voting majority in Dearborn has come to view this political "hegemony which generally refers to relationships between classes,...expresses the ideas of the dominant class, but also is able to see these as "natural" (Childers, 1 ) and racist ideology as "natural and common sense." One of Dearborn’s notoriously racist and domineering political figures was former Mayor Orville Hubbard. He incorporated the racist/inflammatory perspectives that has persisted in Dearborn for four decades that further also defines the present Mayor Guido’s policy and reputation (particularly among the Arab audience who compromise approximately twenty percent of Dearborn.

One hundred years ago, Dearborn was just a small farming community and then changed into Michigan’s largest industrial cities as we had described in the beginning of my paper. In 1941, Orville L. Hubbard took office in Dearborn beginning his thirty-six year reign as Dearborn’s notoriously racist and segregationist mayor (after a decade trying to get elected). He is best remembered by Dearbornites for providing excellent city services, as well as promoting his vehement hatred of Blacks and efforts to "Keep Dearborn Clean" (racially white & segregated). This was clearly related by Hubbard himself in a New York Times Magazine article, "I don’t hate niggers. Christ, I don’t even dislike them. but if Whites don’t want to live with Niggers, they sure as hell don’t have to..."(Good 32). Again he reiterates in a Detroit News interview, "I just don’t believe in integration. When that happens, along comes socializing with whites, intermarriages and then mongrelization" (Good 32). It was this kind of brazen speech that propelled him through fifteen consecutively triumphant elections. Thus, Hubbard successfully exerted apolitical hegemony of superiority and domination at the expense of marginalizing and denigrating Blacks who were not welcome to reside in Dearborn.

However, a majority of the community allowed themselves to accept and embrace Hubbard’s practices. They perceived his rhetoric of superiority and domination over

Blacks as "symbolic" of his political prowess and vital to his role as as mayor. Over the years Hubbard’s ugly, racist ideology remained consistent. During the Detroit race riot in 1967, he ordered his police officers to "shoot looters on sight"(Good 30). Subsequently, his rhetoric was not limited to Blacks, he also showed a dislike to Jews, just as Henry Ford had in the twenties where he had written numerous articles attacking the Jews in his newspaper called The Dearborn Independent. Hubbard also had a dislike to "Methodists" and "an active dislike for the city’s burgeoning Arab enclave in the East end of Dearborn"(Good 34). For three and a half decades his language of superiority and domination never wavered. He was consistently re-elected. The majority of the city’s residents revered the racist rhetor. Hubbard through his hegemonic methods has lead an ideology that was and still is today firmly instilled and accepted cross-generationally among residents as ‘common sense’.

Today, Dearborn has gone through a real estate boom. The land that was owned by Ford Land Development which was still used as a tax right off was farmland in which soybeans were grown. A little reminder, Mr. Ford had labored with George Washington Carver in his work with farm products such as peanut and soybean. Recently, Ford Land Development has been selling off parcels of land to companies like, Compuware, Visteon, K-Mart and United Technologies. This has a posititve impact on employment but has developed a continued congestion and along with that, more construction and delays in traffic.

The cities across the nation as well as around the world have changed tremendously as a result of the automobile industry. I have shown the influence and the effect of a car on Dearborn and Detroit. Just to see the early history of Dearborn transform from an Indian settlement, with a trail or two to what it has become today in just over a hundred years is a marvel in itself. I was able to highlight how the early French and English explorers had influenced trade and their relationship with the Native Indians. The Erie Canal’s impact on transportation and how it brought a flow of immigrants from New York and and other

countries to farm along the Rouge River on the fertile ribbon farms in what is now Dearborn. I have written about the excitement and the convenience that the Michigan Central Railroad system generated in Dearborn when it ran through town in 1837. It was esential to the growth and development of the city. The building of the Arsenal that was moved from Detroit to Dearborn helped Dearborn’s brick-making industry and the construction of it brought more people to work and live in Dearborn.

I have also highlighted events and the early history of one of Dearborn’s most enterprising and influetial people, Henry Ford. He had a vision and foresight to build and produce the Model-T which made it possible for the average working man to own and operate a car. This prosperty to Dearborn also brought a heavy influence to the city. The city was transformed from a small village to a large city with many roads, railroads, factories, stores, and a large number of citizens from all over the world. The city’s housing grew from termendously throughout the city within a very short time. The city’s ethnic flavor is evident in various areas even today.

Henry Ford’s has made his mark in history and will always be remembered for his Ford Motor Rouge Plant in Dearborn. There are many landmarks in Dearborn that bear his name and memory. His love of Dearborn and the past which covers the period of time of his childhood can still be seen and expereniced in the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. The village ironically doesn’t have any cars, It has cobblestone streets and is very much a replica of the walking city that Henry Ford grew up in before the automobile. The village actually recreates a walking city reminisce of the late 1800s through1900s.

The automobile has brought prosperity, employment, and convenience to many people. The negative side is the harmful air and noise pollution that the cars emitt. The unhealthy conditions of the pollution has brought illness to many people. Many lives have been lost in automobile accidents and many people have been crippled and truamatized resulting from automobile accidents.

The positive side of the auto is that it gives the freedom to travel anywhere anytime in the privacy of your own vehicle. The car’s influence has also generated the growth of the suburbs that has reached the maximum and is still growing as we speak. However, the over-crowded highways and roads, global warming, the hole in the ozone and the unrelenting urban sprawl are just a few of the most monumental problems facing us today.