The Contribution of Immigrant Engineers to the Early Success of The Ford Motor Company

The history of automobile manufacturing and the history of American immigration are closely related, since the automobile industry emerged when millions of immigrants were flowing into the United States. One the one hand, there was a heavy demand for labour; on the other hand, the immigrants were trying to find opportunities in the Promised Land. This thesis examines the development of the automobile industry particularly in terms of the Ford Motor Company, with a primary emphasis on the interdependence of immigrant labour and the early success of the company. From 1903, when the Ford Motor Company was founded, thousands of immigrants headed for Detroit. It is worth looking at the reasons for immigration of different nations as well as the reasons why Detroit became the centre of the automobile industry. John D. Rockefeller is reported to have said of the Ford Motor Company that it was “the industrial miracle of the age.” (Wood & Wood, 2003, p. 29) The thesis outlines the development of the Ford Motor Company and the significance of the famous Model T because it was practically the ancestor of all automobiles today, due to its innovation in design, and manufacturing procedurerégi képzésangol nyelv és irodalom szakos tanár (távoktatás