Henry Ford grew up on a farm. When Henry was 16, he went to Detroit, Michigan. He learned about machines. Ford married Clara Bryant in 1888. Later, he worked for Thomas Edison’s company. On his own time, he did experiments. Ford made the Quadricycle. It had four bicycle wheels and a motor. In 1908, he made the Model T automobile. It was very popular.

Henry Ford was not the first person to invent a car. But he wanted to make cars for everyone. Ford made better designs. He tried to build cars more quickly.

In the beginning, cars were made one at a time. Each part was custom made. Ford decided to make many copies of each part. It was easier to work with these interchangeable parts.

At first, just a few people made each car. They did all the jobs. It took all day. Ford decided to use many people. Each person did one job. Conveyor belts brought parts to them. This was an assembly line. It was faster. Ford also paid his workers a lot of money. They worked hard. His cars got cheaper.

Ford couldn’t get parts fast enough. He started making everything at his factory. He even made steel in his factory. Now everyone could afford a car.