Behind Henry Ford’s Trailblazing Career, How He Treated His Son Is Remembered As Crude
You may know Henry Ford as a visionary, an innovative mechanical genius, and the man behind the development of the assembly line. While he did great things in his career and revolutionized mass production techniques in America, his personality was a different story.
TikToker Brian E. Morton (@bemorton) is talking about Henry Ford’s crude behavior and treatment toward his son, Edsel Ford. In fact, some even believe that his actions were what led to Edsel’s premature death.
According to many accounts, Edsel was an overall great guy. He was collaborative, kind, and a good listener, all qualities that Henry himself was said to have lacked.
Their relationship was a bit rocky, and it only became more problematic in 1919 when Henry made Edsel the president of the Ford Motor Company. The company’s sales were decreasing because they were not keeping up with their competitors.
At the time, the company was still selling the Model T, while others were selling more modern-looking cars. Henry was also nearing the end of a legal battle with the Dodge brothers, who were shareholders in the Ford Motor Company.
Henry did not want to pay them the dividends they were owed. Instead, he hoped to put that money back into the company, but his wishes were not granted, and he lost the case.
So, he handed over the company to Edsel. Soon after he passed the company’s ownership over to Edsel, he announced that he would be starting a competing company, selling a car cheaper than the Model T.
“So everyone freaks out. Ford starting a competitor to the company that he created, while his son, an untested 25-year-old man, is running one of the biggest companies in the world? Share prices drop. The market is in chaos,” said Brian.
But the kicker was that Henry wasn’t actually starting a competing car company. He only claimed he was doing so in order to buy back Ford shares at low prices, allowing him to gain complete control over the company.
sonyachny – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only
While Edsel was the face of the company, Henry ran everything behind the scenes, refusing to give up control. However, Edsel wanted to begin a new project–creating the first new Ford car in eleven years.
“He knew what people wanted in the modern 1920s. He knew people didn’t want to crank start their cars. So he started designing this–the Model A–a new car for a new era, the Roaring Twenties,” said Brian.
Henry strongly disliked the idea and continuously tried to sabotage his son’s efforts. One night, he even tore apart the prototype for the Model A during a fit of rage.
Eight years later, Edsel finally launched the Model A. People really liked the new car, and it was what saved the Ford Motor Company from going under.
Unfortunately, Edsel had been developing severe pain from ulcers in his stomach due to the stress he was under. His father blamed it on his “high-flying lifestyle.” However, Edsel collapsed in his office one day, and it turned out that he had stomach cancer.
Meanwhile, Henry wasn’t doing too well, either. He was getting older, hadn’t achieved much more success, and his abrasive personality was driving people away.
In the end, he tried to repair his relationship with Edsel. As a fatherly gesture, he urged Edsel to drink milk from one of the Ford farms. The milk was unpasteurized and contaminated with Brucella. It ended up killing Edsel, and he died on May 26, 1943, at the age of 49.
After his son’s death, Henry took over as president of the Ford Motor Company again. He died four years later.
@bemorton Replying to @natemaffews #greenscreen
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