Henry Ford, born in 1863, was a transformative American industrialist and business magnate whose innovations reshaped the fabric of modern society. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he revolutionized the automobile industry by introducing the moving assembly line, drastically lowering production costs and making cars—once a luxury item—affordable to the average American. This breakthrough not only democratized personal transportation but also helped lay the groundwork for the rise of the American middle class and the mass consumer economy of the 20th century.

Ford’s vision extended beyond engineering. He sought to create a model of industrial efficiency, offering high wages to his workers through his “Five Dollar Day” policy and advocating for shorter workweeks—radical ideas at the time that would become central to modern labor practices. In doing so, he shaped not only how goods were produced, but also how Americans lived and worked.

However, Ford’s legacy is also marred by his propagation of deeply troubling and dangerous ideas. A known conspiracy theorist, he promoted virulent antisemitic views, publishing false and inflammatory claims about Jewish people in his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. He believed that Jewish influence posed a threat to what he viewed as traditional American values, a stance rooted in prejudice and reflective of a wider history of antisemitic rhetoric. His writings were widely circulated and had a damaging impact, both in the United States and abroad.

Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947. He remains a complex figure in American history—celebrated for his industrial genius and criticized for his bigotry. His legacy is a stark reminder that innovation and prejudice can coexist in a single individual, and that the full measure of historical impact must account for both achievement and harm.