1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's here too, and this is stuff you 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 2: should know. The biopic edition of Henry Ward, who plays him. 5 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: HM. 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 2: Well, I feel like technology is getting close to a 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 2: point where we could dig him up and reanimate him 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 2: and he could just play himself. So maybe we wait 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 2: like five years and then do it. 10 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I didn't even see a lot of 11 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: pictures of this guy you have. 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 2: He's very plain looking. But if you know, if you 13 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 2: know what you're looking at, like a picture of him, 14 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: he's a wily old codure. 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: I thought you're gonna say, cuss I could have. 16 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 2: Who would have worked this as well? But you could 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 2: just you can just see it. And the more you 18 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: know about him, when you see one of his pictures, 19 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 2: you can just see all of it. It's really interesting. 20 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 2: But he's very plain working, So I wouldn't be surprised 21 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 2: if you'd seen a picture of him just didn't recognize him. 22 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: I'm looking at him now. He doesn't look super familiar, 23 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: But I mean I kind of have a go to 24 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: that either. Either. Michael Shannon or Sam Rockwell should play everybody? Right, 25 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: And I could see Sam Rockwell gussied up here a 26 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: little bit as Henry Ford. 27 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 2: What about Danny McBride. 28 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: Build a car with all the pix AND's a little 29 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: east bounding down joke for the fans out there. 30 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 2: Sure, I was more a Vice Principals fan. 31 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: That was great too, Walton Goggins, he should play him, 32 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: get him in there. 33 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 2: There you go. Maybe they could just trade off halfway 34 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 2: through the movie. 35 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, and see who f bomb's better. 36 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 2: So let's get this started. Yeah, let's get this started 37 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 2: in here. 38 00:01:57,960 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: All right. Well, well we're gonna talk about Henry Ford, 39 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: who by the way, I feel like we don't need 40 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: some big whopping intro. But I think a lot of 41 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: people recognize Henry Ford as as the founder of the 42 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 1: Ford Motor Company and not the inventor of the automobile, 43 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: but certainly the gentleman who made the automobile ubiquitous, affordable 44 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:20,959 Speaker 1: kind of thing for the common person. 45 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. He's also strongly associated with the assembly line, which 46 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 2: he did not invent, but he just like the automobile. 47 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 2: He definitely made it a thing in doing these things 48 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 2: like normalizing the assembly line and car ownership really had 49 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 2: a huge impact on history, especially the history of America. 50 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: For sure. Shall we talk about where he was born 51 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: or you want to skip that? 52 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 2: No, I mean he was born in Dearborn, Michigan. What's next. 53 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: That was in eighteen sixty three July thirtieth, to William 54 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: and Mary Ford. And his pops was an Irish immigrant 55 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: farmer and his was a homemaker and had a bunch 56 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 1: of siblings. And this is something that you can put 57 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,799 Speaker 1: a pin in. It's kind of very seems very key 58 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: to his life, or at least his formative years, is 59 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: that he went to one of those kind of old school, 60 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: one room schoolhouses until he was seventeen years old. 61 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 2: It was literally old school. 62 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, very old school. But it seemed to be a 63 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: big deal to him, as we'll see later. 64 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. So just kind of skipping ahead a 65 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 2: little bit. He, like Rudolph Diesel, was fascinated by engines 66 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,119 Speaker 2: from a very early age and was like, I want 67 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 2: to build one of those along the way. Before he 68 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 2: got to the point of building things like cars and everything, 69 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 2: he tried his own hand at farming like his old man. 70 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 2: He got married to a woman named Clara who he 71 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 2: would stay married to for the rest of his life, 72 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 2: and he got a job with Thomas Edison at Thomas 73 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 2: Edison's I believe is Menlo Park complex and had his 74 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 2: own little shop and everything, and was very interested in 75 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 2: trying to create a gasoline engine after reading an article 76 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 2: in American Machinists, which is now known as Hustler. 77 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: I'm not going to say, is that true? 78 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 2: Can you transformation? Though? 79 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: I think one of the interesting things about his early 80 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: life though, is that, And just for some reason this 81 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: strikes me as hysterical, is that he had some horse 82 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: riding accidents when he was a kid, and I kind 83 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: of was like, you know what I want to I 84 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: want to get rid of those things, like those are 85 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: those are dangerous and we shouldn't be writing them or 86 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: using them for work. And that seemed to be one 87 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: of the strange childhood drives to start working with machinery. 88 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it is very strange. It's really not at all surprising. 89 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 2: I guess really if you think about it, that his 90 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,559 Speaker 2: skills at building cars is desire and drive to build 91 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 2: cars is what he built his career on, like very much. 92 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: So. 93 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 2: He built a few cars, especially the first one called 94 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 2: the quadricycle. It was so named because it looked like 95 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 2: two bicycles parked next to each other. Yeah, and he 96 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 2: built this thing, like I think he and his friends 97 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 2: built the parts they needed or else they stripped other 98 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 2: things like steam engines, of parts and really like built 99 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 2: this thing from scratch. And then he would ride it 100 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 2: around town and caught the attention of some very wealthy 101 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 2: people in Detroit, in particularly the mayor named William Mayberry, 102 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 2: who became his first real investor, and was like, you 103 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 2: need to build more of thanse and we're going to 104 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: sell a bunch of them. So together in eighteen ninety nine, 105 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 2: was it, they formed the Detroit Motor Company. This was 106 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 2: Henry Ford's first car companies, his first attempt. 107 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, his first couple of attempts at car companies in 108 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: bringing a car that actually could be mass produced and 109 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: selling the market were not successful. This one folded about 110 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,679 Speaker 1: a year later. He got investors for the Henry Ford 111 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: Company next that also failed to bring about a car 112 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: that he could sell to people. But kind of interestingly 113 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: that that company went on to become once Ford was 114 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: kind of shown the exit the Cadillac Automobile Company. 115 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I looked up I was always like, what is 116 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 2: Cadillac named after. It's named after the founder of Detroit, 117 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 2: Antoine de la Mouthe Cadillac, who established what would become 118 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 2: Detroit in seventeen oh one. So there's where Cadillac's named after. 119 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 2: For anybody who was wondering. 120 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe we should do a show in caddies at 121 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: some point. Okay, I'm not a big car guy, but 122 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: the Caddi's iconic. 123 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean the very least outcast 124 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 2: loves it. 125 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: Right. And the thing he did next was, you know, 126 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: he was always trying to raise money and always had 127 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: kind of a love hate relationship with investors. Yeah, because 128 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: he was like, you know, I neither money, but that's 129 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: kind of all they're good for. Otherwise they just medle 130 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: in my creative genius. So he set about racing cars 131 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: to kind of drum up publicity and investor interest. And 132 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: that's what happened when he started winning races with two cars, 133 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: the Arrow and the nine to ninety nine, which is, 134 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: look these things up, they're super cool looking. And that 135 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: led to some investors, most notably a guy named Alexander Malcolmson. 136 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, so just like building a quadricycle and riding around 137 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 2: like setting the land speed record in one of the 138 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 2: race cars he built. That attracted Malcolmson. Two in malcolmsm. 139 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 2: This time it stuck. Malcolmson helped Ford launch the Ford 140 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 2: Motor Company, which may ring a bell because it was 141 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,679 Speaker 2: established in nineteen oh three, and get this, it's still 142 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 2: around today, over one hundred and twenty years later. 143 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: It sure is. Yeah, so I guess you could say 144 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: this one was a success, starting with the Model A, 145 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: which started selling you know, I don't know, like hotcakes, 146 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: but selling well enough in nineteen oh five to keep 147 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: the company afloat. They were building about twenty five of 148 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: them a day, had about three hundred people working for them, 149 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: and started over like a five yearish period releasing you know, 150 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,679 Speaker 1: different models indicated by a different model letter. 151 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: Did you look any of these up? The C, the F, 152 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 2: the and the B and the K. 153 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: I did. Those. B and the k's were the more 154 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: luxury models, and they're just gorgeous automobiles. 155 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 2: I mean, they're absolutely amazing, even still today. And then 156 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 2: if you look at the more like reasonably priced cars, 157 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 2: like the Model C and the F and the END, 158 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 2: they're basically just like open air buggies with a motor 159 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 2: in them, which is I mean, that's what nineteen oh 160 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 2: five and nineteen oh seven and eight cars were in 161 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 2: a lot of ways, But that B and that K 162 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 2: they're just something extra special. It's really I'm not a 163 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 2: car guy at all, and I find those alluring. 164 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: For sure. Yeah, I think we're kind of the same, 165 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: Like we're not big car dudes. But if you see 166 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: something like that or the one that the guy did 167 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,559 Speaker 1: the first cross country road trip in, yeah, like I'm 168 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: able to be knocked out by a car, you just. 169 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 2: Go room room. So you said that his uh he 170 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 2: had a love hate relationship with investors. I would posit 171 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 2: that he had a us hate relationship with them. 172 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: Uh. 173 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 2: Good point to Henry Ford. He was the visionary designing 174 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 2: and building cars. Malcolmson gave him some money and was 175 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 2: getting money in return. He got his thing. That was 176 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 2: their arrangement. Malcolmson was saying, Hey, you're making all these 177 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 2: like reasonably priced cars, forget that. We need to be 178 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 2: focusing on luxury cars. And Henry Ford bristled with his 179 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 2: back turned at his workshop desk and resolved right then 180 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 2: and there that he would either murder Alexander Malcolmson or 181 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 2: force him out of the company, and he ended up 182 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 2: going with the latter. 183 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: That's right. In nineteen oh six, he had Malcolmson successfully 184 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: pushed out and not murdered. He launched the Model Tea 185 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen oh eight, and this was, you know, the 186 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: Model T is a is an iconic, legendary automobile because 187 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: this was finally the one that had that perfect balance 188 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: of a little bell and whistle action but something that 189 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,319 Speaker 1: was easy to fix. It was it held up well, 190 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: it was, and it was affordable for the common person, 191 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,559 Speaker 1: which kind of cemented him as you know, a man 192 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:26,079 Speaker 1: of the people. 193 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 2: It was an enormous like achievement the Model T was. 194 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 2: It sold for like eight hundred and fifty bucks when 195 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 2: it first came out in nineteen oh eight. That was 196 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 2: the highest price it was ever charged. From what I 197 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 2: can tell, that's about thirty thousand dollars today, So it 198 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 2: was roughly equivalent to like a Honda Civic or like 199 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 2: a Subaru Legacy or something like that. Right at the time, 200 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 2: all other cars that were being built were luxury cars, 201 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 2: and they were going for two to three thousand dollars, 202 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 2: So anywhere from like seventy to one hundred thousand plus 203 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 2: dollars to buy a car. Now, all of a sudden, 204 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 2: this guy's selling him for thirty thousand, the equivalent of 205 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 2: thirty thousand dollars, and car our ownership just boomed from there. 206 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 2: You said they were building twenty five cars a day 207 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 2: in nineteen oh five. By nineteen thirteen they were selling 208 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 2: or building one hundred and eighty nine thousand of them 209 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 2: a year, which I haven't done the math, but that's 210 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 2: a lot more than twenty five a day. 211 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: Well yeah, and good job on not doing maths. 212 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 2: Thank you. First of all, you say, I speak for 213 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 2: myself and all. 214 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: Listeners, and this is a direct result of his innovation 215 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: of the assembly line. Like we said kind of at 216 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: the beginning, A lot of people think he invented the car. 217 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 1: Not true, invented the assembly line also not true. There 218 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: were assembly lines at other factories, like bicycle factories and stuff. 219 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there were conveyor belts used in farming and 220 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: like cattle operations and stuff like that, candy factories, candy factories. 221 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: Well put a pin in that, actually, But he actually 222 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: combined those two things in a way that no one 223 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: had before, where he was literally bringing the work to 224 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: the people. They would stand in one spot, that conveyor 225 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: belt would bring along the thing they needed to work 226 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: on or finish or tinker with or whatever or inspect. 227 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: First it was a rope, and then it was like 228 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: a chain assembly, and then it led to definitely some 229 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: I Love Lucy type moments. I mean that was first 230 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: of all, the workers didn't like it at all. They 231 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: thought it was really boring. But it also at times 232 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 1: was like I'm not done with the thing that's now 233 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,719 Speaker 1: left me, and that was a big problem when you 234 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: had to stop the assembly line. 235 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, because before these people were like part 236 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:46,839 Speaker 2: of an army assembling a car. They didn't just make 237 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 2: this one cog over and over and over again. And 238 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 2: like you said, it got very boring, was very repetitive. 239 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 2: And the turnover rate for employees at Ford by nineteen 240 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 2: thirteen was at three hundred and seventy percent. And that's 241 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 2: just churning. That's a really high turnover rate. If that 242 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 2: number doesn't immediately present itself as such to. 243 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: You, well for sure, here's another stat off. Three hundred 244 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: and seventy percent doesn't mean much to you. He was 245 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: hiring fifty three thousand people every year to fill fourteen 246 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:17,079 Speaker 1: thousand jobs. 247 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:19,439 Speaker 2: Oh my god, wow. 248 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,199 Speaker 1: And which was no good. You know, that's never good 249 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: for a company. But that also that assembly line brought 250 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: the price down on that model t I think you 251 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: said it it would be like thirty grand and today dollars. 252 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: By nineteen twelve, they brought that cost down to what 253 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: would be about nine thousand dollars plus change in today's money. 254 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: I think in nineteen twelve it was five twenty five. 255 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: By nineteen sixteen it was three hundred and forty five dollars. 256 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: So for a car, it went down from from thirty 257 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,319 Speaker 1: grand to sixteen grand to about nine grand in today dollars. 258 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:00,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, so wow, that's that's impressive. One other things that 259 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 2: was the result of that, that streamlining of costs and 260 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 2: the reduction in price was Henry Ford came up with 261 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 2: an idea to keep workers around. He said, how about this, 262 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 2: you trade your boredom for more money, and worker said, 263 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 2: all right, I'll hear you out. And so Henry Ford 264 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 2: came up with the five dollars work day. If you 265 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 2: worked at Ford, you made five dollars a day at least, 266 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 2: And that at the time is equal to about eleven 267 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 2: hundred dollars a week. Here, I think, what is that fifty. 268 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: One hundred and fifty four dollars a day and to 269 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: day dollars. 270 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 2: Okay, but times like seven days a week basically eventually six. 271 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 2: So it was it was a pretty good wage and 272 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: people were blown away by it so much so that 273 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 2: Ford was able to basically use it as a pr 274 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 2: campaign to it basically be like, I'm paying five dollars 275 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 2: and I'm characterizing it as profit sharing because I take 276 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 2: care of my workers. And this really helped establish his 277 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 2: reputation from the outset as like a man of the people, 278 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 2: a populace who cared about factory workers, which is not true. 279 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: True to put that in perspective, when I first started 280 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: working as a PA in the film industry, I made 281 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:28,680 Speaker 1: one hundred bucks a day working at least twelve hour days. Well, 282 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: they were working. He actually shortened their work day to 283 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: eight hours a day at one hundred and fifty four 284 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: dollars a day. So that ain't bad at. 285 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 2: All, No, it's not. So that really handled that reduced 286 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 2: that turnover rate. It got it under under control. Productivity 287 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 2: started to stabilize. I mean it proved that, like, if 288 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 2: you treat employees at the very least pay them what 289 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 2: they're worth, people will work harder for you. They'll it's 290 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: just a really good way to run a company, rather 291 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 2: than squeezing every last time that you can out of 292 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 2: as few people as you can. Henry Ford kind of 293 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 2: proved that that was not the way to go. 294 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: That's right, but it came with some catches. In nineteen 295 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: fourteen he came up with the sociological department of his company, 296 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: and that was a group who, over the course of 297 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: about seven years would go around and come to your 298 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: house and do little home visits and say like, oh, 299 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: I see alcohol in the house, and it's kind of 300 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: a pig sty. So you don't qualify to get that 301 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: five dollars a day. If you took in a border 302 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: like looks like you're renting a room to someone, Sorry, 303 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: you don't qualify. These are all, you know, pretty vast overreaches, 304 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: you know, when you think about like today's standards, some 305 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: of them were pretty good. 306 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 2: Though. 307 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: If you had a domestic violence rap against you, you 308 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: didn't qualify, So you know, good for him for that, 309 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: I guess. 310 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 2: Sure, And today I mean, yes, that would be crazy 311 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 2: if somebody did that, because instead employers just spy on 312 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 2: you through your work computer rather than dropping by your 313 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 2: house actually, because that'd be too obvious, you know. So, 314 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 2: I think we talked about this in the Ford Landia episode, 315 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 2: where like the sociological department was really keeping an eye 316 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 2: on people, and in a lot of ways, you're like, 317 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 2: that's just insane, and it was. There's another like kind 318 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 2: of facet to it that is worth pointing out that 319 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 2: most of these workers whose houses were being visited lived 320 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 2: in Ford housing that was built right near the plant, 321 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,479 Speaker 2: and I believe they got subsidized housing. So, based on 322 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,679 Speaker 2: what I know about Ford, if he paid for something 323 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 2: even a little bit, he owned it. So he felt 324 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 2: totally emboldened to just send people into your house to 325 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 2: see if you were drinking or not, and then that 326 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 2: would affect your employment. He owned you, he was paying 327 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:53,920 Speaker 2: you a really good wage. He owned you, He owned 328 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 2: your house, you owned your family. That's just how he 329 00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 2: saw things. He could buy anything with money, and he 330 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 2: just behaved that way as well. 331 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally, should we take a break, Yeah, all right, 332 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: so we're gonna We've talked about his career up into 333 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 1: this point. We're gonna take a little slight turn to 334 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: talk about his personal life right after this. All right, 335 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: as promise, we're going to talk a bit about the 336 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 1: man's personal life. We mentioned that he married his wife, 337 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: Clara Bryant in nineteen eighty eight, and they stayed married, 338 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: and you know, I had a very close partnership as 339 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: married people go. But all while that was going on, 340 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: all the while, he was having an affair. I mean, 341 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: I don't think you'll see this printed on any Ford 342 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: Motor Company like official histories or anything, but he had 343 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: a long standing affair with a woman named Evangeline Coat 344 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: and eventually would get one of his friends, perhaps even 345 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: his personal driver to his guy named Ray Dollinger to 346 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: marry her because it appears as though he had a 347 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: son with her named John, and was like, hey, buddy, 348 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: you got to marry this lady and make it look 349 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: like that's your son, and the whole time we're going 350 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:43,919 Speaker 1: to be having this kind of secret affair. 351 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was the setup. And again, like he paid 352 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 2: for Evangeline's house. In Evangeline and Ray's house, apparently they 353 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 2: had like at least two or three estates, one of 354 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 2: which was just like a couple miles down the road 355 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 2: from where Ford lived with Clara. He even built a 356 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 2: secret staircase that he could use that was away from 357 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 2: prying eyes and went directly up to Evangeline's bedroom. That's 358 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 2: greedy and in the seventies, John Ford, who Henry Ford's 359 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 2: been an inordinate amount of time with. If it wasn't 360 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:22,199 Speaker 2: his actual son, he'd later in the seventies like like, 361 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 2: I think he wrote a memoir and said like, yeah, 362 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 2: this guy's my he was my father, like that, he 363 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 2: was my father. Sorry, if you don't want to hear it, 364 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,640 Speaker 2: That's how it was. And I think still it was never. 365 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 2: It's still never. No one ever took a paternity test. 366 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 2: Evangeline never talked to the press about it. Like it's 367 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,919 Speaker 2: just not officially confirmed. But in every single way besides 368 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 2: officially it's confirmed. 369 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. During this time, he also had a 370 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: son named Edsel. He would famously name a very failed 371 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: automobile after probably on purpose. Yeah, he was born in 372 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three. He was a good dad for about 373 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: a minute, but once Edseell got to be a little 374 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: bit older, they did not have a very good relationship. 375 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,360 Speaker 1: He thought he was kind of a weakling. He thought 376 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: it was soft. He did give him a job, and 377 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: he would humiliate him and belittle him. He would even 378 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: back him to be the president, his son to be 379 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: the president of the Ford Motor Company, but just in 380 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: kind of like he didn't have any real teeth in 381 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: that job because dad was still running the show. 382 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, a really widespread anecdote about how Henry Ford treated Edzell. 383 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 2: Edzel could not make a step as president of Ford 384 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,639 Speaker 2: Motor Company without his dad's approval, and if he did, 385 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 2: there was trouble. And in one case, the administrative offices 386 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 2: were starting to get overcrowded, so he had a new 387 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,159 Speaker 2: wing built for it. New office is built, and he 388 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 2: didn't pass it by his dad first, So when his 389 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 2: dad found out his dead, halted work on it. By 390 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 2: this time, they dug out the foundation and Edzel said, okay, 391 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 2: sorry about that. I'll just fill the ground back in, 392 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 2: and Henry Ford said, no, you won't. You will leave 393 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 2: that there and you have to walk past it every 394 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 2: day on your way to work and it will remind 395 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 2: you of your humiliation. Essentially, that's how Edzel was treated 396 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 2: by his father. It's like Henry Ford had a rich 397 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 2: kid just by definition, but hated rich kids like kids 398 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 2: that were born rich, right, and he treated his son 399 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,160 Speaker 2: that way. And from what I can tell, his son 400 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 2: was not a bad guy and didn't deserve this at all. 401 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 1: Now, I mean, he might as well have said, I'm 402 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: going to leave that hole in the ground as a 403 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: reminder of what a jerk father I've been to you. 404 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, it's very sad. Yeah, it's real sad, like 405 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,439 Speaker 2: he I mean, it's also his son died young in 406 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 2: nineteen forty three, at age forty nine. I think we 407 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 2: talked about this in the Ford Landia episode two, that 408 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 2: he died one of two ways, from stomach cancer or 409 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 2: from a bad reaction to raw milk that his father 410 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 2: made him drink. Yeah, And even as he was sick 411 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,159 Speaker 2: and dying, Henry Ford was like, suck it up. He was, 412 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 2: you know, stop stop making such a big deal out 413 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 2: of this. And as Edgel as it became clear that 414 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 2: Edwel was very, very sick and actually dying, Henry Ford 415 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 2: is like, oh, okay, I'm going to try to get 416 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 2: some doctors out here and get the best of the best, 417 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 2: and they couldn't do anything. And when Edzel died, he 418 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 2: blamed Edgell's doctors, and then I guess eventually he blamed himself, 419 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 2: but I don't know how he did that or how 420 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 2: that's documented. 421 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, agreed, all right, So back to his career in 422 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen. Again he's tired of the investor sort of 423 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: getting in his way. In his mind, this is amazing. Actually, 424 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 1: he lost a lawsuit that basically said you have to 425 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: pay out dividends to the Dodge Brothers, two of his 426 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,440 Speaker 1: biggest investors at the time, and. 427 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 2: Also his competitors who owned Dodge Motor Company. 428 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:58,679 Speaker 1: The Dodge Brothers owned Dodge. 429 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:00,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, can you believe it? 430 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: And by by that time, he was like, I really 431 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: want to control everything. I want to be able to 432 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: build a factory that basically handles everything but the tires, 433 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,439 Speaker 1: because the Firestones have that under wraps. 434 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 2: Basically Andy was friends with Firestone too, so. 435 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. So he said, all right, here's what 436 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do. I'm going to announce that I'm leaving 437 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 1: the company. I'm going to announce that I'm going to 438 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,959 Speaker 1: build a better company that's going to produce better cars 439 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: and cheaper cars. And all the stockholders freaked out because 440 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,400 Speaker 1: they were like, if Henry Ford's not at the helm. 441 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: This company's going to go under, and so they started 442 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: selling off their shares. What they did know is they 443 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,720 Speaker 1: were mostly selling to an investment company that was controlled 444 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: by Henry Ford. So he ended up I mean, I 445 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,199 Speaker 1: don't know, I don't know if this is illegal at 446 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: the time, at the very least, it was unethical. Yeah, 447 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: but he ended up outright owning the Ford Motor Company 448 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:57,679 Speaker 1: basically by himself with his son and wife. 449 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 2: Isn't that amazing. I mean, say what you will about 450 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,160 Speaker 2: the man, but that is one of the wiliest business 451 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 2: moves in the history of American business. 452 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: Wiley is a good soft way to tell that. 453 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 2: I read that when he was when he told when 454 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,119 Speaker 2: he was told that like the whole plan worked, it 455 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,160 Speaker 2: was done, he danced a jig in his office. 456 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: Well he loved dancing, he did. 457 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess that's not that surprising. 458 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, we didn't mention that because that'll come up later too. 459 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: He had a thing for square dancing, and I tried 460 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,200 Speaker 1: to get his employees to learn square dancing. 461 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 2: I think we talked about that in the Ford Lanety 462 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 2: episode two. 463 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: It seems like it came up for sure. 464 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 2: I mean, how can you can't talk about Henry Ford 465 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 2: not talk about his weird love of square dancing? 466 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I mean he loved what he loved. 467 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 2: One of the things he did not love is war. 468 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 2: He was an avowed pacifist and he spoke out quite publicly. 469 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 2: One of the things he used his recognition and fame 470 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 2: for as a man of the people was to use 471 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,040 Speaker 2: that to speak out against World War One. And that 472 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 2: was really dicey because the Espionage Act of nineteen seventeen 473 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 2: was used about two thousand times. Two thousand people were 474 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 2: charged between nineteen seventeen and nineteen twenty for speaking out 475 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 2: against World War One, So that was not something that 476 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 2: you just did casually. Like, it was a big deal 477 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 2: that he did that. He gave interviews about it. He 478 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 2: charted a boat to ride to Europe to try to 479 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 2: advocate for peace. It's called the Peace Ship. It was 480 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,400 Speaker 2: not very well received by the press. He was made 481 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 2: fun of. But like, he was definitely a pacifist for sure, 482 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:38,680 Speaker 2: But when America entered World War One, he backed it fully. 483 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. He did the same thing with World War Two. 484 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: He was against it until Pearl Harbor, and once America 485 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 1: was in these wars, he didn't just fold his hands 486 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,719 Speaker 1: and say, well, you're on your own. He would, you know, 487 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: of course, at the government's behest transform the Forward Motor 488 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,439 Speaker 1: Company into building everything from airplane engines to ambulance in 489 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: military personnel vehicles. 490 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,719 Speaker 2: And those ambulances would go on to blow up when 491 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 2: they were rear ended in the seventies, often with patients 492 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:08,360 Speaker 2: in them. 493 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:11,719 Speaker 1: Were they pentos, They were close. 494 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,719 Speaker 2: So one of the things that Henry Ford was in 495 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,480 Speaker 2: addition to speaking out about pacifism, he spoke out about 496 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 2: a lot of stuff. And he was interviewed once. He 497 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 2: was very opinionated, totally convinced that his opinion was correct, 498 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,280 Speaker 2: like objectively correct. From what I guess a little bit. 499 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 2: He was interviewed in the Chicago Tribune and he said, 500 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 2: among other things, that he basically hates art and that 501 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 2: he quote, history is bunk, that there's nothing to be 502 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 2: learned from history. We always just need to be looking forward. 503 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 2: And so the same year, nineteen sixteen, the Chicago Tribune, 504 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 2: the paper he was interviewed and also published an editorial 505 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 2: calling him an ignorant idealist and an anarchistic enemy of 506 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 2: the nation. And so he said, you know what, that's 507 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,920 Speaker 2: libel and I'm going to sue you. And it went 508 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 2: to trial in nineteen thirteen and he won. He won 509 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 2: six cents, which is less than five dollars today. That's 510 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 2: how much he won from the Chicago Tribune. That's how 511 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 2: much he was awarded. But even worse, he was just 512 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 2: really exposed as an ignorant person on the stand. He 513 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 2: was like quizzed about things like history and stuff and 514 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 2: just completely got stuff wrong. And all of the papers, 515 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 2: including the Tribune, published all this stuff, so it didn't 516 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 2: really make him look good. 517 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was kind of like, I'll take your test, 518 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: and then afterwards he's like, I shouldn't have taken this test, 519 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: especially in front of everybody. Yeah. 520 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 2: Under oath, there was also a. 521 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: Rumor that he might have been illiterate. I don't think 522 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 1: that was probably true, and it stems from the fact 523 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 1: that he refused to read aloud. But who knows. He 524 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: may have had some form of dyslexia or a learning disorder, 525 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: like we just don't know. So it's poculating in twenty 526 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: twenty four is a little I don't know, I'm not fants. 527 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 2: It makes it pretty ironic that one of the things 528 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,719 Speaker 2: he collected were McGuffey Readers, which were nineteenth century textbooks, 529 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 2: like he collected them. That's a strange thing for a 530 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 2: person who's not literate to do. 531 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, elementary school textbooks. They were for kids, sure, 532 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: so maybe that made more sense. I don't know. 533 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 2: Maybe he's like, yeah, collect these, I'm definitely not teaching 534 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 2: myself from them. 535 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: So he didn't like the press, not just because of this, 536 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: but he was he was just a lightning rod for 537 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: good press and bad press. But he got fed up 538 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: with it. Eventually he was like, you know what, I'm 539 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: going to start my own newspaper. So he he bought one, 540 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:45,520 Speaker 1: the Dearborn Independent in nineteen nineteen, and he you know, 541 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: basically controlled it and was like, here's what I'm going 542 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: to do. I'm not sure if everyone knows about my 543 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: anti Semitic views, so I'm going to start making this newspaper, 544 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: write lots and lots of articles about how Jewish people 545 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: are in control of the world and the finances of 546 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: the world and are responsible for everything bad, including these 547 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,120 Speaker 1: wars that are happening in jazz music that is leading 548 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: to you know, drug use. So in all, they ran 549 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: about ninety one stories in the paper that he would 550 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: eventually collect into a four volume book called The International 551 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: jew which he distributed like a half a million copies 552 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: to people for free. 553 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 2: Purposely never copyrighted it so that it could be republished, 554 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 2: and it still is. It's a huge It's like a 555 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 2: bookshelf must for white supremacists still today. 556 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. 557 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 2: The fact that none of the stuff he ever said 558 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 2: in it was ever proved or shown to be true 559 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 2: or correct has no bearing on that whatsoever. And I 560 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 2: don't know if this is the origin of it, but 561 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 2: he certainly perpetuated, if he didn't create it, the idea 562 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 2: that Jewish bankers secretly ran the world, yeah, which is 563 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 2: still a trope today among white supremacists and racists of 564 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 2: all stripes. One of these articles, I think it was 565 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 2: about Jews taking over the American farming industry, mentioned one 566 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 2: guy in particular, a Jewish activist who was a union 567 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 2: activist trying to organize farm workers, named Aaron Sapiro, And 568 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 2: he was named personally in this article. So he's like, oh, 569 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 2: you like libel suits, here's one for you too, And 570 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 2: he sued him for libel. 571 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, he did, and I think he ended up settling 572 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: out of court. 573 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 2: Right, he did. And part of the settlement was that 574 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,640 Speaker 2: he was required to make a public apology to Jewish people, 575 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,360 Speaker 2: which he took the opportunity to make what seemed like 576 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 2: a sincere apology, like he'd seen the era of his ways, 577 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 2: but apparently privately he had all the same views. And 578 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 2: if you want to know anything about Henry Ford and 579 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 2: his anti Semitism, he accepted it an award from Hitler 580 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 2: in nineteen thirty eight, and this is the culmination of 581 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 2: a long time mutual admiration between the two. Hitler cited 582 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 2: Henry Ford as an inspiration in mind comp and I 583 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 2: think in nineteen thirty one and a reporter from the 584 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,959 Speaker 2: Detroit News interviewed Hitler in his office and noted that 585 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 2: there was a huge portrait of Henry Ford behind Hitler 586 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 2: at his desk, and Hitler said, I regard him as 587 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 2: my inspiration. So they definitely admired one another's views and work. 588 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's enough set on that, right. Sure 589 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: it speaks for itself, Yeah, for sure. All right, Should 590 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 1: we take a break and come back with a little 591 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: more career, Yeah, all right, we'll be right. 592 00:32:45,160 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 2: Back, all right, Chuck, So you talked about him wanting 593 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 2: to build like a plant what's called a vertically integrated 594 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 2: plant where ore and raw materials are brought in and 595 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 2: everything but the car's tires are built and assembled there. Right, Like, 596 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 2: if you have something like this, you are extraordinarily powerful 597 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:36,239 Speaker 2: in whatever industry you're in. And he built it. It 598 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 2: was a two thousand acre plant called the River Rouge Plant, 599 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 2: and I think it opened in nineteen eighteen, and I 600 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 2: mean it was extraordinarily successful and just launched the company 601 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:52,000 Speaker 2: into like essentially a monopoly. Even though there were other 602 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:55,160 Speaker 2: car companies, nobody could compete with Ford, to the point 603 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,120 Speaker 2: where it was like, you know, he might as well 604 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:00,720 Speaker 2: have had a monopoly on it. He was just so 605 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,240 Speaker 2: far ahead of everybody else by this time, Yeah. 606 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: For sure. And part of the success of that plant 607 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 1: was due to the fact that he kind of caved 608 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:12,240 Speaker 1: a little bit on releasing cars that had some bells 609 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: and whistles. He like, you know, I mentioned earlier, he 610 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 1: wasn't the biggest fan of those and kind of like, 611 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,279 Speaker 1: you know, the car for the people, but sales were 612 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:22,239 Speaker 1: declining in the mid nineteen twenties, so he said, all right, 613 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: the Model T has done its work. But I think 614 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 1: we need something a little more luxurious. So the Model 615 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: A was released in nineteen twenty seven, and they also 616 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: sold a lot of those. 617 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 2: They did. That's another pretty car too. It's like the 618 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 2: official car of like gangsters with tommy guns who robbed 619 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,320 Speaker 2: banks and like run along and jump on the running 620 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:44,280 Speaker 2: boards on the side. 621 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 1: Yeah. 622 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that kind of car. It's pretty car. 623 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:49,239 Speaker 1: You can hang off the side of that thing with 624 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:50,759 Speaker 1: a tommy gun like no other car. 625 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,839 Speaker 2: Right. So I said earlier that Henry Ford had an 626 00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,040 Speaker 2: enormous impact on American culture American history. One of the 627 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 2: ironic things are funny things, it's a little ticklish, is 628 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 2: that he despised the consumer culture that he helped create. 629 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,600 Speaker 2: He felt that as people got more money in their pocket, 630 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 2: they looked to spend it in increasingly amoral ways, and 631 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:25,879 Speaker 2: that the country was turning away from the ideals of 632 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 2: his childhood, what he considered true America, what he considered 633 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:36,200 Speaker 2: the point of life, family, square, dancing, anti Semitism, these 634 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:40,239 Speaker 2: three pillars. Right, He saw people turning away from this, right, 635 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,400 Speaker 2: and so I think he railed against it, for sure, 636 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,440 Speaker 2: But him personally, he took that as an opportunity to 637 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:52,399 Speaker 2: kind of like fade into this childhood fantasy, this idealized 638 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,920 Speaker 2: version of the way life was in his childhood. And 639 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,800 Speaker 2: he did this by building something called Greenfield Village. 640 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,799 Speaker 1: I thought, you're going to say Celebration Florida. 641 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,960 Speaker 2: I know, there's a striking resemblance. I even wrote it's 642 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:06,240 Speaker 2: like Celebration Florida. 643 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. It's also a little bit like his version of 644 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,719 Speaker 1: Colonial Williamsburg. He started developing this in nineteen nineteen when 645 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: he restored his original house, and about ten years later 646 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: it would open to the public as sort of like 647 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,240 Speaker 1: a Williamsburg of his time. It was like a living 648 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,279 Speaker 1: history village. There was a museum there still is. He 649 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:32,320 Speaker 1: would he would basically like like Colonial Williamsburg would do. 650 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,239 Speaker 1: He would say like, hey, this is when things were 651 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:37,840 Speaker 1: the best, like when I was a kid. Totally definitely 652 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 1: a narcissist. Yeah, I mentioned this is when things were 653 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 1: most awesome, and here's what it was like back then. 654 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,480 Speaker 1: Here's what the buildings look like. You can come and 655 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,920 Speaker 1: walk around the village. It's even got like it functioned 656 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,719 Speaker 1: as a real place where people live. There was that 657 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 1: school in that one room schoolhouse, modeled after the one 658 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: that he loved growing up they had a full time 659 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:04,240 Speaker 1: dance instructor who was teaching square dancing, among other things. 660 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: And he was told to seeos like, you need to 661 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,359 Speaker 1: get down there to Greenfield Village. I've signed you up 662 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: for Tuesdays at seven. 663 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 2: Can you imagine? 664 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 1: No? 665 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,080 Speaker 2: So, yeah, it's still there today, right, it's still a 666 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 2: living museum open today. I've never been. It does sound interesting. 667 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,640 Speaker 2: In addition to the look back at history, which is 668 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,239 Speaker 2: ironic again because he said history's bunk, it was also 669 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:31,280 Speaker 2: a way to preserve the great technological innovations of Thomas Edison. 670 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,799 Speaker 2: He took buildings from Menlo Park and moved them to 671 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:38,120 Speaker 2: Greenfield Village. So he assembled his idealized version of what 672 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,560 Speaker 2: town would have been like in his childhood. And he 673 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:44,439 Speaker 2: just spent more and more time there and just kind 674 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 2: of moving further and further away from the company. And 675 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:50,879 Speaker 2: as he spent less time at the company, he had 676 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,880 Speaker 2: to somebody had to run the company, so he grudgingly 677 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,320 Speaker 2: had Edzel running things. He had another guy named Charles 678 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:01,200 Speaker 2: Sorenson who ran the plant, that huge River Rouge plant. 679 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,960 Speaker 2: And then he had another guy, a real scumbag named 680 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 2: Harry Bennett, who we've talked about multiple times, who ran 681 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 2: the Ford Service Department, which was the Ford goon Squad essentially. 682 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, and goon squad meeting they He wasn't a big 683 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:21,640 Speaker 1: fan of unionization and workers organizing, so Bennett would go 684 00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:24,719 Speaker 1: in and do the heavy work. A lot of paranoia, 685 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:29,600 Speaker 1: created a lot of literal punishment for just dumb little infractions, 686 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,280 Speaker 1: saying they couldn't have bathroom breaks, you get fifteen minutes 687 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,719 Speaker 1: for lunch. I'm going to spy on the CEOs. And 688 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: if you come around here, like maybe from the UAW 689 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:45,880 Speaker 1: the United Auto Workers, and you start talking about organizing, 690 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,800 Speaker 1: we're going to literally physically like beat you down and 691 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:49,879 Speaker 1: run you out of here. Yeah. 692 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:51,719 Speaker 2: If you read about what's called the Battle of the 693 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 2: Overpass in nineteen thirty seven, it's we've again, I think 694 00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:58,399 Speaker 2: we've talked about that before too. 695 00:38:58,440 --> 00:38:58,680 Speaker 1: But the. 696 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,640 Speaker 2: Ford Service Department, led by Harry Bennett, who was in 697 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:06,279 Speaker 2: the mix, like, beat these people so badly. They were 698 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:10,200 Speaker 2: thrown down flights of concrete stairs. When they were knocked down, 699 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:11,920 Speaker 2: they would be picked up again so they could be 700 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 2: beaten further. Some of the women that were there were 701 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,960 Speaker 2: roughed up. It was a bad jam. And then they 702 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,360 Speaker 2: chased their reporters down to try to get their notebooks, 703 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,520 Speaker 2: try to get the film out of their cameras, and 704 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:24,680 Speaker 2: only because a couple of reporters, one of them ran 705 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,279 Speaker 2: five miles to a police station to keep his negatives 706 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:32,000 Speaker 2: intact or his plates intact, and another one managed to 707 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 2: hide it, hide his plates just in time and gave 708 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:39,800 Speaker 2: him fake plates or fake film essentially to go and break. 709 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:44,280 Speaker 2: And this stuff got published and it was totally contrary 710 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,720 Speaker 2: to Ford's version of what had happened, and it really 711 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 2: gave a huge black eye to the Ford Motor Company 712 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 2: because you just didn't that was just beyond the paal 713 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 2: even for the nineteen thirties, like union busters, right, So 714 00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:02,520 Speaker 2: it actually held paved the way for the UAW to 715 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:07,840 Speaker 2: make inroads and start organizing Ford and the Ford employees finally, 716 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,719 Speaker 2: i think, five years after the Battle of Overpass, were 717 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,279 Speaker 2: given the opportunity to vote whether to unionize, and they 718 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:18,080 Speaker 2: said yes, union, Yes, si sepuia all. 719 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:22,759 Speaker 1: Right, So we're at the end. He had not been, 720 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,400 Speaker 1: you know, some people say he was still calling the 721 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,080 Speaker 1: shots kind of close to the end. He was in 722 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,400 Speaker 1: his seventies by the time Bennett was doing his strong 723 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:33,280 Speaker 1: arm work, so there are people that say he wasn't 724 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,799 Speaker 1: super aware of that. Other people like you know, one 725 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,759 Speaker 1: of the top folks, Sorenson, said, no, he was. He 726 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,279 Speaker 1: was doing exactly what Ford wanted. But as he got 727 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:48,320 Speaker 1: older and older, he obviously started experiencing health issues. Throughout 728 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,000 Speaker 1: that last decade, he was just sort of you know, 729 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,759 Speaker 1: declining like we all eventually will, and that means at 730 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,719 Speaker 1: work as well, like not working as much. Had a 731 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:02,319 Speaker 1: lot of health issues, especially his memory. But he still 732 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:06,359 Speaker 1: wouldn't like officially give up control or just say I'm 733 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 1: just going to go hide away from the public. 734 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:08,239 Speaker 2: Right. 735 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: We talked about World War two and you know heat 736 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:16,799 Speaker 1: activism there in the nineteen thirties and forties. Also was 737 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,040 Speaker 1: not a big fan of FDR and the New Deal 738 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,600 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties, so he was not shutting up 739 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:22,319 Speaker 1: about that either. 740 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:24,959 Speaker 2: He would have loved social media. If you were on today, 741 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,160 Speaker 2: he would be huge on social media. 742 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:32,120 Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. We mentioned Edzel died in nineteen forty three 743 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,839 Speaker 1: and for a very brief time after Ford took over 744 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:39,400 Speaker 1: the company again as president. But it was you know, 745 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: he shouldn't have been running a company at that point. 746 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 2: No. One anecdote is that he would fire employees and 747 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:47,680 Speaker 2: then you know, a day or two later, ask why 748 00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,440 Speaker 2: they weren't at the meeting because he'd forgotten. And so 749 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,000 Speaker 2: as more and more of the stuff mounted, the executives 750 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 2: are like, you have to retire. Please just let us 751 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:57,880 Speaker 2: handle as we can do this, and he finally caved 752 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 2: in nineteen forty five. Two years later he would be 753 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,719 Speaker 2: dead April seventh, nineteen forty seven, and I think his 754 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,840 Speaker 2: last day on earth really kind of illustrates him. He 755 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:11,560 Speaker 2: spent the morning with his mistress of Angeline, and he 756 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:14,840 Speaker 2: died at night when he had an aneurism while he 757 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:18,200 Speaker 2: was fluffing his wife Clara's pillow at bedtime. 758 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 1: That's not funny, but the way you put it was funny. 759 00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:25,520 Speaker 2: I mean, there's no other way to put it. I 760 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:27,560 Speaker 2: could have said it in like Italian or something, but 761 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:29,640 Speaker 2: then no one would have understood what I said, except 762 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 2: for our Italian listeners. I don't think we have Italian 763 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:36,120 Speaker 2: listeners because you've alienated them all. Oh man, you got 764 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:36,680 Speaker 2: anything else? 765 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,080 Speaker 1: No, I'm looking for the compliment sandwich in that one, 766 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:40,799 Speaker 1: but I don't think it's. 767 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,840 Speaker 2: Cone the compliment. The last part is that you do 768 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:48,279 Speaker 2: a really great Italian impression regardless, and everyone loves it. 769 00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:52,719 Speaker 2: He said you had nothing else right, so that means 770 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:53,799 Speaker 2: it's time for listener maw. 771 00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:00,879 Speaker 1: Yeah. This is about the just released episode that part 772 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:05,040 Speaker 1: of which was about this mystery song from the nineteen 773 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:09,000 Speaker 1: it was eighties, right, yeah, eighties. Hey guys, my name 774 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:10,760 Speaker 1: is Nicole and I was just listening to this episode 775 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,799 Speaker 1: about the most mysterious song on the Internet. I've been 776 00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:15,640 Speaker 1: listening to it now for about forty five minutes, and 777 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,920 Speaker 1: a couple of things stood out. Disclaimer. I am German 778 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,399 Speaker 1: born and raised during the eighties and have been living 779 00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:24,239 Speaker 1: here almost eighteen years now. Given the fact that I 780 00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: grew up during the time this song was discovered, some 781 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 1: things have become rather apparent to me. I am sure. 782 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:30,600 Speaker 1: I'm not the first one to say this, nor will 783 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,759 Speaker 1: I be the one cracking the code, but I find 784 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:35,520 Speaker 1: it very interesting. I'm still working on deciphering the lyrics 785 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:38,080 Speaker 1: and I have about half of it down and here 786 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:41,759 Speaker 1: are my humble observations. Number One, the song is most 787 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:44,120 Speaker 1: likely written and recorded by East Germans, given the fact 788 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:47,880 Speaker 1: of how dark and depressing the lyrics are. Two, it 789 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:49,920 Speaker 1: is somewhat difficult to make some of the lyrics out 790 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:53,160 Speaker 1: and some words have been used in the wrong form. 791 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:57,400 Speaker 1: Also very interesting. Number three. I find this utterly fascinating 792 00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:00,600 Speaker 1: and it's definitely a rabbit hole guys. Number four, I 793 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:03,759 Speaker 1: wonder if this song was accidentally played smuggle in by 794 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:08,239 Speaker 1: someone unbeknownst to the radio station, since it isn't professionally recorded. 795 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,120 Speaker 1: I found this to be very likely to be the 796 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,320 Speaker 1: case at any rate. Thank you for making great shows 797 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:16,440 Speaker 1: to keep me on my toes and inspire me to 798 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:18,640 Speaker 1: think outside the box. This one, in particular will be 799 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:21,080 Speaker 1: a great one, especially because I had never heard of 800 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:23,400 Speaker 1: it before today. And that's from Nicole. 801 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,200 Speaker 2: Awesome. Thanks a lot, Nicole. Thanks for listening to us 802 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:29,319 Speaker 2: over there in Germany. That's awesome. And if you want 803 00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:31,319 Speaker 2: to be like Nicole and send us your thoughts and 804 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,319 Speaker 2: observations on an episode that we've done. We love that 805 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:36,520 Speaker 2: kind of thing. You can wrap it up, spank it 806 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:39,200 Speaker 2: on the bottom, and send it off to stuff podcast 807 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:44,080 Speaker 2: at iHeartRadio dot com. 808 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:47,120 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 809 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:51,400 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 810 00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:53,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.