The book that I have choosen for the book review assessment is called The Arsenal of Democracy by A.J. Baime. The era in which this book takes place in the United States history is the period before World War 2 and during World War 2. This was right when Henry Ford was building cars and the auto industry was booming in America. One has to know the buildup to World War 2 and the years prior to it to understand the global influences to the author's main point. Events like industrial changes, interchangeable parts, the great depression, the rise of nazis germany, America view of the european war, and the battle of resources in World War 2. The author ,A.J. Baime, is a journalist that works for the New York Time magazine,Popular Science, …show more content…
Nations that sacrifices major casualties and needed resources to the war effort. A.J. Baime argues that automobiles like Ford change the fate of America and turn it into an industrial powerhouse in World War 2. Ford's massive means of productions from civilian automobiles to jeeps, airplanes(to an extent), other other military vehicles changed the tide of the war. With massive power under their hand, A.J. Baime argues that the deals and decisions that they make were the contributing factor thoughs the winning side of the war. A.J. Baime supports this argument by living the life of Henry Ford and Edsel Ford. Through their lives, they make critical decisions that decided the fate of the war in the United States. A.J. Baime explains the terrible relationships between Henry and his son ,and how this really effected Ford. This would create a divide within the Ford company and its direction in economic and political future. Though through the tough relationship, Edsel pushes Ford into one of the main industrial power houses in America(General Motors was the top manufacture in America). A.J. Baime explains how Edsel had pushed Ford into a main helper in World War 2. Without the industrial help of these
Most reviewers rate this book between three and four out of five, with the majority of reviews being four out of five. The book does a great job of depicting the historical events that are covered, and the author does so while still maintaining the entertaining qualities of a fiction book. I would rate this book a four out of five because it is not only entertaining to read while still accurately depicting historical events, but the author does a great job of keeping the reader’s attention with the characters’ depiction. Overall, I am pleased with the book and have learned much more from it than what is covered in The American Journey.
In the early twentieth century, a prominent Michigan businessman fathered the American automobile industry. This innovative engineer and machinist revolutionized the world’s manufacturing techniques with the advent of the “moving assembly line” technique for mass production. Henry Ford’s innovations will forever change transportation and the American industry. With his acquired wealth and power, Ford turned his head towards politics. In 1918 Ford became the leading candidate for a Michigan senate seat; however he was unable to achieve this goal.
Henry Ford was a captain of industry. He owned Ford Motors, which was an automobile company. Ford was a man who always wanted his own way and he got it most of the time. The creation he is most famous for is the FORD MODEL T, the car for the commoners. His car became an instant hit amongst the people- the local people and the working class of people because it was very affordable and was not just for the rich. Ford was a very successful businessman but not particularly a nice guy. He expected a lot from his workers but thing is that he also cared for his workers, because he knew that not only were they dependent on him but also that he depended upon them, they were the ones due to which he was gaining popularity and success throughout America. Ford’s great strength was the manufacturing process for his cars. Instead of having people put together the entire car he created organized teams that added parts to the Model T as it moved down the assembly line, this lowered the production prices and also the time and energy required to put together the cars.
From September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945, the world was witness to the most fatal war in our history. During this six year period, an estimated 78 million died. In 1940, The US, despite not having joined the war at the time, was at risk of being invaded. Franklin D. Roosevelt realized that without the help of the US, the war efforts of Great Britain and the rest of Europe were futile. However, American citizens were opposed to joining the war because of the horrors of World War 1 and the idea of those horrors being repeated. In an effort to convince the American public to take action, Roosevelt addressed the country on December 29, 1940. Roosevelt’s use of repetition and pathos within his speech, “The Great Arsenal of Democracy,” illustrated
In Conclusion, the success of the war was substantial impacted by the work on the home front. However, even though it had a substantial impact it wasn’t the only reason America was so successful. The way the production changed during World War Two still impacts our lives today due to all the great inventions we got out of World War Two and the decades after.
Henry Ford was one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in creating the automobile assembly line, it was his controversial characteristics and unorthodox approach towards administrating the Ford Motor Company which resulted in the conglomeration of one of the most successful corporations in the world. At the turn of the century everything was booming! The growth of the economy and stock market increased the job opportunities as well as morals. As a result of this industrial revolution, out of the woodwork came a humble yet driven man, Henry Ford. Between the five dollar/day plan, his policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his customers, Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This controversial behavior epitomized the success of the company, it did not lead to his own downfall as many suspect. The Anti-Semitic accusations, and the belief that Ford was taking advantage of his customers, were by far overshadowed by his brillianc!e and strong hand in running his company.
The Constitution of the United States of America is seen as a vastly democratic document, allowing democracy to flourish here. But is it truly as democratic as believed? Was a democracy even the intended goal of the writers? Well we’ll just have to figure that out. Starting with, who the writers of the Constitution were. Then what a pure democracy even is. Followed by four separate parts of the Constitution and the extent to which that they are democratic. Ending with the answer to our question.
Kyi Suu San Aung. "The Quest of Democracy." Reading The World: Ideas That Matter, edited
In past and even in recent history, world politics has taken many faces ranging from the absolute monarchies of PhillipII to the dictatorships of Sadam Hussein. Some political institutions have even stood out and have taken center stage in political theses. Two successful institutions that follow this criteria include democracy, backed by de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and communism, as written in Marx’s Communist Manifesto. While both these aspects of politics have enjoyed ample success, there is no possible way both these worlds can coexist and function because democracy has exceptionally achieved far more prestige and withstood the ravage of time in terms of American democracy. Communism could have been the answer to governing a nation but due to the vice of power-hungry leaders, democracy surpasses this institution with evidence from history, revealing why these political powers machines cannot remain mutually exclusive.
As a result of the United States joining the war in 1916, industry productions boomed. (Effects of WWI in America) Factories and manufacturers had to keep up with the growing demands of the war effort by solely producing weapons, tanks, airplanes, and any other necessary products. In order to produce more material in a short amount of time, new technologies were developed to help manufacturers meet the needs of the people and government. Also, more employment opportunities opened for women and African-Americans. With fewer healthy, working men in America, women became the main work force, largely employed in factories across the nation. (Effects of WWI in America) African-Americans also became popular in factories as they migrated to cities in search of job opportunities. As industries boomed during this time, so did the economy. According to David Jarmul, "Because World War One left Europe so devastated, industry boomed in the United States to fill the worldwide demand." By the end of World War One, the United States produced more goods and services than any other nation. (Jarmul) Americans had more coal, food, cloth, and steel than even the richest foreign countries. In 1920, the United States ' national income became greater than the combined incomes of France, Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany, and seventeen smaller countries. The Unite...
Professor’s Comments: This is a good example of a book review typically required in history classes. It is unbiased and thoughtful. The Student explains the book and the time in which it was written in great detail, without retelling the entire story… a pitfall that many first time reviewers may experience.
... in hopes of ending the war Ford announces the Peace ship expedition. The plan was to sail to Europe and convince nations that where at war to stop fighting. His plan failed. Ford also ran for congress in hopes to end the war, this plane also failed. When world war two started in 1939 Ford fought to keep the United States from choosing sides. Ford hated war but after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the Ford Motor Company became on of the United State’s biggest military contributors. The Ford Motor Company supplied airplanes, motors, jeeps, and tanks.
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
Within democracies there is great dilemma between security (keeping the country and citizens safe) and liberty (honoring individual rights and freedoms). Many would attest that having both is vital to having a democracy. However, during specific periods, the government may value security above liberty or vice versa. In the particular scenario where a country goes to war, the true significance of the debate between security and liberty unveils. More specifically in a situation where a country orders a draft and enacts laws ordering those who protest against the war to be thrown in jail. In this situation, the government is placing the value of security above the value of liberty. Security is necessary, especially in times of war, but ignoring liberties jeopardizes the principles in which democracy was built. In addition, a lack of liberty can cause a country to be divided and citizens to become disloyal. All of which is a recipe for disaster during wartimes. While at the same time, it is important to respect people’s liberties, giving to many liberties threatens the security of the country by allowing citizens to protest and rebel against the government. Thus, a society must decide the right amount of both. People in a society with restricted liberties might begin to feel fear, anger, and resentment. This leads to protest, revolts, and mutinies such as it did in the scenario. Therefore, while security is imperative, undermining citizen’s liberties threatens the structure of democracy by restricting freedom, creating chaos and generating disloyalty in citizens.
The 1994 elections implemented democracy into South Africa’s government. This allowed for many parties including the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), the South African Communist Party (SACP), and other parties to run for office (Southall 1994). With these elections, the ANC was able to convert “itself from a movement of liberation into the predominant party of power” (Southall 1994: 643). Over the past twenty years of democracy the ANC has retained this position of power and currently holds the highest percentage out of all the parties in South Africa’s parliament. However, even though South Africa has transformed into a democratically run government there has been many political and socio-economic challenges that have threatened South Africa over its twenty years. Three prominent problems that the ANC and South Africa has dealt with and currently deals with are the economy, public health, and the high-levels of corruption.