Episode 10 - Henry Ford: Assembly Line Tyrant

The same mind that revolutionized industry also harbored dark and hateful ideologies. This episode pulls back the curtain on the other Henry Ford: the tyrant, the union-buster, and one of America’s most prominent antisemites. We reveal the oppressive reality of life inside his factories, where the assembly line’s crushing monotony was matched by a corporate police force known as the "Service Department" that spied on and intimidated workers. His famous "$5 day" came with a catch: employees had to submit to intrusive inspections of their private lives by his "Sociological Department" to prove they were morally worthy of the high wage.

We then investigate his deep-seated antisemitism, which he spread through his self-published newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. For years, this paper propagated hateful conspiracy theories, including "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," to an audience of hundreds of thousands, making him a celebrated figure by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. This was not a private prejudice but a public crusade financed by his immense fortune. His control extended to his own family, particularly his son Edsel, whom he publicly undermined and emotionally abused for years.

This episode confronts the disturbing duality of a celebrated American icon. Henry Ford's legacy is a stark reminder that revolutionary innovation can coexist with reactionary and destructive beliefs. He built a modern marvel of production, but it was housed within a dark age of prejudice and control.