Henry Ford: Motor City - US History - Part 2 - Extra History

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History: Grosse Point Racetrack 1901, Henry Ford got his first taste of racing but it was his partnership with Alexander Malcomsom and John and Horace Dodge that started the Ford Motor Company in Detroit's beloved Motor City! Where they wouldn't manufacture vehicles but assemble them using a new moving assembly line. Producing the Ford Model T, an affordable car that would change the world.
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Miss an episode in our Henry Ford Series?
Part 1 - • Henry Ford: The Boy Wh...
Part 2 - • Henry Ford: Motor City...
Part 3 - • Henry Ford: The Model ...
Part 4 - • Henry Ford: Ignorant A...
Part 5 - • Henry Ford: A Tragic E...
Series Wrap-up & Recommended Reading / Lies Episode - Release Date: 10/28
♪ "An Industrial Genius" by Tiffany Roman - Release Date: 10/25 - Available on Patreon Soon!
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Artist: Ali R Thome I Writer: Robert Rath I Showrunner & Narrator: Matthew Krol I Editor: Aidan Strite & Mac Owens
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[@extrahistory]

🚗 Looking for fast food? Then why not try this weeks sponsor Factor? Just go to bit.ly/3kHfe03 and use code EXTRACREDITS50 to get 50% off your first Factor box! Thanks for watching!

[@dextersauve5491]

Hello Edit: just to clarify I love your content

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Always appreciate your hardwork and dedication 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤

[@noyes4968]

I guess it is the FACTOR for a good diet

[@jobangamer1309]

Thank you I was waiting for this video continue uploading my friend love your channel and your videos.

[@CallMeThyme]

No Thanks

[@Brandon_TG_Smith]

I still find it funny how a gaming channel that had nothing to do with history basically transformed into a history channel with a small secondary gaming channel all because of a sponsorship.

[@nextghost]

Well, because of a sponsorship and the main gamedev writer leaving to focus on his gamedev career instead.

[@Bill_Garthright]

If you think that's funny, how about Perun? I was a fan when he was just posting about games. These days, he's got so many people waiting for his Sunday videos that I doubt if he has time to even _play_ games. And that wasn't because of a sponsorship. But I'm always glad to see gamers making it big.

[@cassidy4037]

god, was that rome 2 total war? such a long time agai

[@jazzysoggy12]

Context? Explain more?

[@moskaumaster1594]

@@jazzysoggy12 Extra Credits was originally just a channel about game design but when Rome 2 Total War came out they were sponsored to make a short series on the punic war. This lead to them making a regular history series alongside their video game content and now they just do the history and other humanities series.

[@crocowithaglocko5876]

72 miles an hour with no brakes sounds like the worlds most terrifying roller coaster

[@jaysmith1408]

Or most vehicles in Ohio

[@williamboisdenghien2849]

All gas no brakes!

[@thewafflegamer6152]

Sounds like germany

[@mjbull5156]

Imagine being Ford's mechanic in that race and spend it hanging on the side on the running board. I am not sure if that's bravery or stupidity.

[@ecurewitz]

@@mjbull5156both

[@liamproductions1115]

Funny how Henry Ford practically created his own comptetition

[@Genesis23OPB]

competition breeds innovation

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@Genesis23OPB1970's Malaise Era: hehe...

[@BeaglzRok1]

You'd be surprised how often that sort of thing happens. See also the classic example of Sony entering the video game market.

[@steamrangercomputing]

I suppose no-one could accuse Ford of running a monopoly.

[@bass679]

And all these names are still all over here in Detroit. And I thi k it's hard to understand unless you see it how the auto industry is woven through every part of this city. Like, no matter what you do, in the end you are part of the auto industry in some way.

[@chedelirio6984]

1908: "...and an owner should be able to repair it themselves with no special training..." 2023: cries fighting for Right to Repair laws...

[@jaysmith1408]

My explorer is a breeze to repair

[@MatthewSmith-sz1yq]

Right to repair is certainly a big factor, but people seem to have this fantasy that cars can be as easy to work on as cars from 40-50 years ago. It's just not possible, because those cars had drastically simpler systems (no AC, no electronics, etc). There's definitely a lot of issues with things like hostile design (headlight replacement requires the removal of the fuse box) or inability to get parts, but more stuff means more complexity.

[@giglioflex]

@@MatthewSmith-sz1yq I highly disagree. Modern cars have electronic diagnostic systems that can tell you immediately what the cause of an issue is. The problem is that system is locked down so that only certified mechanics can access it. Complexity has increased but most of the difficulty repairing modern vehicles is because they are designed to be harder to repair. In addition, electronic vehicles drastically reduce the number of parts needed. There are also advances in metal deformation that will reduce the number of parts needed for all cars. Eventually people are going to have to wake up and realize that modern life is complicated despite all the technology we have because it makes big corporations money. Same reason Apple requires "calibration" or any replaced phone parts.

[@HDreamer]

Why? It's almost as bad here too. @@arisnotheles

[@Randomdudefromtheinternet]

@@MatthewSmith-sz1yqTechnology can compensate for that (YT tutorials, diagnostic tools, etc), but the thing is that we want the right to repair it ourselves or to find someone to repair it for us without the big corporations monopolizing and charging people the equivalent of a kidney for something that a company-neutral repairman could fix for like $20 American dollars.

[@HistoryMonarch1999]

That intro was basically how I felt after playing mafia definitive edition racing level. “Yes I WON I never wanna do that again”

[@extrahistory]

🤣🤣🤣

[@yugoslavball1945]

Seeing Henry Ford racing someone using HIS creation is something that should be covered in the media more often.

[@Abd121]

I think that's the refrence they tried doing in Iron man 2? tho I think it was a little flimsy!

[@noviranger239]

It's called combat robotics.

[@gamerstheater1187]

A movie exploring Henry Ford as a villain protagonist would be cool

[@monkeymode7529]

I love how the personalities of the Dodge brothers are exactly what youd expect of the founders of Dodge lol

[@williamclark4816]

To say that first race in 1901 was a big deal is in understatement. It was actually the first automobile race in Michigan, and anticipation was high. Stores closed, people flocked to the race track, and a judge had adjourned his court to go see the race!

[@martinsto8190]

its nice that the timing of this series on Henry Ford's legacy lines up with the strikes happening on the automobile industry in America.

[@user-gi8pk9uc7q]

Interestingly, Ford is not one of the companies whose workers are on strike!

[@fatimaalaa2659]

What's happening in America? I only heard of the Hollywood strike & some BLM stuff

[@alwoods8010]

​@@fatimaalaa2659whiny people are being whiny. They turned down 29% raises because they think they are special little peoples. They aren't. Unions are the worst.....

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

@@alwoods8010 so true!

[@CosmicAggressor]

I am liking the forshadow as a charactor. I am hoping he sticks around and we end up with a small host of thematic charactors to help efficiently symbolize and comunicate concepts

[@mileskay7566]

This is a literary technique that stretches back at least as far as 523 AD when Boethius personified Philosophy as a woman to talk with. It then became all the rage in the middle ages with Death being an actual character often. I'd 100% love to see Foreshadow return.

[@blaster915]

Henry Ford racing cars himself, funny this hasn't been covered more in other media!

[@extrahistory]

It's been a real interesting series do dig into!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

​@@extrahistoryYou guys are the best🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤

[@HardCodedGaming]

Yeah, this has been much more interesting than all I knew going in: "he figured out assembly lines" and "he was anti-semitic". Feels like a really good book so far, but you heard the author went a little off-the-rails before they wrote the sequel. (Also "Off the Rails" would be a great documentary title on this era of auto-making.)

[@abcdef27669]

“I hope everybody saw it, because I will never do it again!” - Henry Ford.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

In the doc/dramatization The Men Who Built America, Ford is shown racing. Unbelievable.

[@afrozen10-02]

Fun fact: to this day racing is a big part of how car companies advertise themselves. As the phrase goes: win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Edit: also, it’s funny seeing how the Dodge brand today is so much like the attitude of the Dodge brothers. Absolutely insane and crazy in all the best ways.

[@abcdef27669]

3:14 - That detail on the mustache… Genius!

[@saidtoshimaru1832]

They should have left a little bit of mustache in the center.... ooops, that's for later. Foreshadow.

[@UnknownSpectre5]

Y'know this is quite interesting to see this series happening at the same time to what is happening right now: the motor workers union strike.

[@ferretyluv]

It is. Ford just preempted strikes by building in worker-friendly policies. Of course, it wasn’t perfect and UAW did have strikes and slow-downs after him, but stuff we take for granted like eight hour work days and 40 hour work weeks we can thank him for.

[@hokkaidorider4296]

Watching from Detroit. So proud to see the local history!

[@cudwieser3952]

Another great story is William Crapo Durant. He is probably the truer story of Motor city and the rise and fall of Detroit.

[@jimmypetrock]

2 years later and Ford got better production and the first transcontinental passage in car

[@maxellxlii90]

Having an entire side of my family from Detroit (my great-great-grandfather knew Henry Ford well. I have a photo of the two on a street in Ireland in 1927 that I'd share if the print wasn't buried in storage), this has been an interesting watch. As a long time viewer, it's not often I'm this captivated by a series of episodes! I have to give a shoutout to Henson Razors who sponsored Episode 1 as well. Best shave I've ever had!

[@CanadioIsCool]

What was your gramps name? Maybe you can find him on google!

[@maxellxlii90]

@@CanadioIsCool His name was Edward Grace. He managed the Fordson plant in Cork for a few years and was sent over by Ford himself to manage the first few years of the operation. Whenever Ford was in Ireland, he'd stay in the guest room. The photo in question is the two of them alongside a Model T somewhere in Cork. There are a few articles referencing his time in Ireland and at least one photo of him online

[@CanadioIsCool]

@@maxellxlii90 Nice!

[@juanatethejetdryer7580]

Funny how Henry Ford himself started not just Ford itself but the ford racing legacy (please make an episode on that), who because of him now runs in IMSA, NASCAR, rally racing and even was and now is going to set back foot into the biggest stage in all of Motorsport: Formula 1.

[@Tdiddy77]

I love these videos they are so fun to watch good job!

[@extrahistory]

Thanks for stopping by to watch them!

[@shockwavegaming5907]

That story with the Dodge brothers sounds just like something a Dodge owner would do and sums up their cars perfectly lol

[@RamdomView]

0:45 That is the same man as the founder of the Winton Motor Carriage Company. It was one of that company's cars that was the first to drive across the United States. The company was bought out by General Motors in 1930.

[@jaysmith1408]

I only heard of their motors, which went to GM, GMD, EMD, now Progress Rail, and therefore CAT.

[@nikoforsyth514]

Why did I get chills when I heard the Model T name dropped?

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Because 1) It was the car that started America's #1 perennial problem (total dependence on cars) and 2) it was the car that destroyed the Ford Company's market share...

[@ferretyluv]

It was the first mass produced (as in, on an assembly line) and massively adopted car in the world. It created the car industry as we know it today.

[@monkofdarktimes]

​@@theotherohlourdespadua1131this is your brain on trains

[@lemapp]

Because of the success of the Model T, farmers developed a new concept, Truck Farming. We don't really use that term much anymore, but it revolutionized getting food into cities. We are used to large fruit and produce sections in our local supermarket. But back then, food shopping was an adventure at the local farmers markets. Ford's first factory outside Detroit was in Norfolk, VA building trucks. Other than WWII, this plant produced Fords from 1925 to 2007.

[@justinaysien1204]

Dame did not know that thanks for the information my dude

[@thetribunaloftheimaginatio5247]

"A Runabout! I'LL STEAL IT! NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!"

[@MALEMization]

John Dodge (To the Bartender): DODGE! *fires a bullet at his feet* DODGE! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODGE!

[@abcdef27669]

->Frozen Lake. ->Relatively safe. Never thought I would hear those two sentences, together. (By the way, I am from a country without snow, so… Yeah, not my field)

[@bezretmet]

back where i'm from, a lake that's frozen solid solid can bear the weight of modern day trucks

[@ecurewitz]

Must be nice having no snow

[@gerstelb]

You should do a one-shot video on the 1908 New York to Paris race - possibly the ultimate early automobile publicity stunt.

[@Velochromantic]

Wow, I was born in Grosse Pointe, and I never knew of its significance outside of usual Motown associations. Appreciate you, Extra Credits!!

[@FakeBlocks]

Please do the Greek war of independence of 1821 against the ottoman empire next I've been asking for this since the first episodes of the sengoku Jidai!

[@ferretyluv]

You’ll have to become a Patron. They only listen to people on Patreon.

[@300fusionfall]

One day man, one day

[@Pikashockdragon]

0:00 Is the racetrack still around today? Cause I been having no luck in tracking down it's fate if it did close down.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

2:45 foreshadowing strikes again!

[@Hopolite93]

you guys are the best, you supply us with a weekly video to feed our historical hunger. Thank you for what you do!

[@charliefarmer4365]

I’d say making someone dance at gunpoint while ruining his livelihood for fun is more than a *little* nuts.

[@bobkarafin]

FWIW, Dodge did come back a few days later and paid up for all the damage he had done….

[@charliefarmer4365]

@@bobkarafin maybe he was just drunk then. Good on him to pay for repairs.

[@thetvbox7225]

Always love these videos!

[@CallMeThyme]

Its here, Amazing. I love your stories about things that Arnt like typical historical stuff but more minor Evenes like this!

[@jaysmith1408]

I’d keep an eye on those Dodge brothers….something just rubs me the wrong way….but I’m not sure what….

[@extrahistory]

[@ilovemuslimfood666]

“A runabout. 🧐 I’ll steal it! ☝️ No one will ever know! 😈” Oldsmobile: 👂 Cadillac: 👂 Dodge: 👂

[@forgemetal9289]

For all the shady things a lot of the captains of industry did in those days, I can’t help be inspired by their stories

[@s.g.arimos497]

I have seen most of these cars in person, since I worked at the Henry Ford Museum and honestly, it’s really cool hearing them referenced in his larger history

[@jakob1840]

Nice video thanks for the knowledge

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love tour content guys! You always make my day!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤

[@extrahistory]

[@dudewithacat52]

crazy how this all started with a want of tinkering

[@blindingpheonix345]

This is basically the first series on thia channel that im watching as it is beign released, normally i dont have to wait and can watch the whole series in one sitting if i want, now i have to wait. But oh well, for such amazing content, i am willing to wait.

[@tankerkiller3331]

I believe that a bunch of model T’s where made into the first ever bus by an Argentinian in 1928

[@Thewhitedeath244]

No brakes never occurred to me. It just seems like a thing you would want to do is stop lol 😂😂

[@eduardogutierrez4698]

0:38 The first time I've seen a character in this channel with pupils.

[@fretienkamp6735]

Henry Ford: "That was more fun than I ever want to have again."

[@user-dt7py6oo1t]

Hey guys your Sun Yet Sen episode got me a job at the airport in hk ya im know quite well know here. Thanks.

[@MrSandman730]

Hopefully the foreshadowing implies you'll discuss Ford's antisemitism?

[@tavenstrickert9658]

I have watched practically every single video does the creator has made trust me they're going to talk about the anti-semitism. They do not shy away from the darkness I an individual's life, they just also make sure to show the rest of their life in context.

[@Nostripe361]

@@tavenstrickert9658it is something I am looking forward to because I never heard anyone talk about it in context. I don’t why he became antisemitic or how he expressed it. I only ever heard people say he was antisemitic and drop the conversation as if that is enough explanation

[@foristrothbert568]

@@Nostripe361 If you've watched this channel for any amount of time, you should know nothing will be on context, there will be no nuance, and the EH crew will slam their point home with giant fists of ham and make the man into a generic villain. Ford isn't far left enough or dark skinned enough to warrant any semblance of context. The moment they finally drop the dime on him, it's going to be "Ford man bad" for an entire episode.

[@nonasuomi282]

​@@foristrothbert568now tell us how you feel about "bankers"

[@TheRealZeke2003]

​@@nonasuomi282You're probably a Communist, tell us how YOU feel about bankers 🧐

[@Montananmooselover]

This right here is amazing content.

[@southafricancarlover8666]

4:45 makes sense. Dodge is a crazy company.

[@iwatchDVDsonXbox360]

This was surprisingly interesting.

[@1ronDragon]

5:38 I know inflation is a thing, but a car for less than the new iphone sounds wild 😂

[@mjbull5156]

You cannot compare a dollar today with a dollar a hundred years ago. Nor can yiu compare cars today with a hundred years ago. The tech has greatly changed.

[@ferretyluv]

I looked up the price adjusted for inflation and it’s about the average price for a new car today, $27k.

[@terrelldean988]

Hearing all the names of future companies is hilarious. Just waiting for the inevitable Dodge Brothers split

[@Kaiju-Driver]

Amazing history.

[@alfrancisbuada2591]

Yeah and don't forget one of his cars was also used to race from one point of the continental USA to the next. Greatly impressing everyone.

[@aotoda486]

I imagine (?) that this series was conceived before UAW mobilized. Sharp timing; can't wait for the last episode

[@thomas.0]

I don't know how you do it, but all of these cartoonish characters are so. freaking. cute. Genuinely.

[@timmyrap1o1]

Those are the Dodge Brothers

[@LowellLucasJr.]

THOSE Damn Dodge Brothers are at it again!!!!!😂❤

[@BlackLabelExpat]

So much for the easy to fix part

[@vincentbernardin9992]

I love Henry ford

[@user-qs2dc9xj6o]

So if henry didn't exist we will run on horses

[@chinthor]

Wait. I'd been given the impression that Ford's big innovation was the assembly line. And that the idea, at least as it applies to large assemblies like cars, was born in his factories. But he lifted it from his own workers, who in turn cribbed the notes from Olds?!?! I had no idea at all. Anyone else in the same boat here?

[@buns9022]

3:34 AND THE DRIVER WAS... A YOUNG VLADIMIR LENIN!

[@JamesR1986]

I see how Dodge markets their cars the way they do.

[@jaysmith1408]

Every concept meeting “Ahh, but can it fit a Hemi?”

[@LeoLeo-vz6vs]

YES NEW VIDEO

[@mhollis1989]

Dodge Brothers... givent who we're talking about, are we talking about THAT Dodge?

[@thomasdaywalt7735]

Henry ford may not be a good man, but his impact is something to speak of

[@dragonbutt]

Cant wait for the Dodge Bros episodes

[@mjbull5156]

The Dodge brothers were supplying Olds and Ford. What became the Big 3 auto companies had surprisingly incestuous relationships.

[@chedelirio6984]

Then again it kind of stands to reason that the people who were doing things successfully at the start, were well placed to go Big later on.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Amazing work as always guys! Ford rode race cars himself?! Cant believe this hasnt been covered more! Im definitely gonna be here for the whole ride! This series is fantastic! 🫡🫡🫡🫡🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@dualorphan3765]

HE GOT THE BARE WHIP

[@monsterman394]

i swear this man travels back in time to get his info

[@rachelbrenner4092]

In Fort Meyers, FL there are the winter homes of Ford, Edison , and Firestone. They were all next door neighbors. Ford and Edison would play jokes on each other such as stealing paving stones out of eachother's yard and have their names engraven on it and put it the other person's yard.

[@RickJaeger]

I'm going to MOTOR CITY! MOTOR CITY! That's where all the motors live!!

[@damienhailey118]

What was the brothers' name again? Piccolo? DODGE!

[@WT-Issues]

HenryFord is someone i can call a young minds fullest pottential.

[@aaronschaefer4167]

I've heard several sources say that Oldsmobile, Ford and others got the idea of the assembly line from the meatpacking industry. How they disassembled animals he could assemble cars

[@Ari.Atland]

Wild how intertwined American car company histories are. Cadillac, Dodge & Oldsmobil.

[@roguedogx]

1:43 and to think the company was sucked dry by gm, became a shell of it's former self, and was unceremoniously dropped after the 2008 recession. Something that GM has a habit of doing. Kind of making them the EA of the automotive world.

[@roguedogx]

4:17 and over 100 years later, Tesla would try to ditch suppliers and then wonder why it's struggling to only make reliable cars, but get them out the door at all.

[@TerminatorHIX]

I'd like a list of studios killed off by EA side by side with all the car brands "retired" by GM over the years.

[@roguedogx]

@@TerminatorHIX off the top of my head I can think of -Hummer -Saab (especially brutal because they "sold" to to spyker and made sure both companies went under) -Pontiac -oldsmobile -saturn -effectivy Holden and Vauxhall (although they were sold to PSA before the job could be completed) -they really tired hard to kill lotus. I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

[@frankgrimes24]

The dodge story fits perfectly 😂

[@postapocalypticnewsradio]

PANR has tuned in.

[@critter_core]

Is watching a ford video: Gets a bmw ad.

[@fasdaVT]

I hope the Foreshadow character sticks around and show up in other series.

[@manugamer9984]

Funny that Ford, who’s today so linked with efficiency in production, was so creatively inefficient in testing his ideas. Still, I kinda understand him: there’s something fascinating in building your creation and make adjustments as you try it

[@frghbnjm5536]

oh wow

[@AsbestosMuffins]

hail Ford and the model of T

[@kingofbirds]

dont you dare slander my chickie nuggies like that

[@leagueoflags]

Goose bumps at the 1914 foreshadowing...

[@cmatrix4761]

lol I really like your videos. I do feel like the ad reads are a little long compared to the content size, but that's a disregardable inconvenience.

[@noone1929]

Gotta go fast!

[@haydenk6459]

If I had a Time Machine the first thing I’m doing is bringing a dodge demon back to the dodge brothers

[@nickipuckett8178]

I think that you guys should do a video on the women’s march on Versailles

[@Braddack]

yeah , more Time for BG 3 ,

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

So, he stole an idea? Wouldn't be surprised at this point.

[@Twilor]

You know your car is good if it gets used as an ambulance

[@TheOnlyKreator1]

fantastic video, although not sure oldsmobile is a household name anymore since the company was shutdown about 15 years now