$5 Day

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2. What kind of lifestyle did Henry Ford promote? How did he want people to live? How did he encourage people to live that way? Henry Ford attempted to promote a certain lifestyle to his workers. This was a lifestyle he explained would provide an incentive for proper living. The basis for this belief was that “a man who is living alright will do his work alright” (Ford, 128). Given this information, it can be said that Ford was a man not only interested in creating a successful company, but was also interested in creating a better world. By offering the $5/day, Ford was able to retain workers that would most likely have left the company. In addition to this, due to the increased wages the workers were making, many did not mind the intrusion into their personal lives or learned how to hide their activities. While creating a better society might have been the justification, it is often debated that Ford’s actions were actually meant to eliminate the unionizing of his workforce. The offer made to workers was not an hourly rate equivalent to $5 per day. Instead, the company had a profit sharing plan. This plan allowed the workers to earn part of the company’s profits at a rate of $5/day. To qualify for the $5 day a person must have already been employed by the company for at least 6 months and must be worthy of it. To be deemed worthy, a worker had to agree to and follow the rules set forth by Henry Ford. These rules were rooted in the Protestant work ethic with a few additions by Ford. These rules included cleanliness, forbid going to bars or taverns, being good citizens, learning English, did not take in boarders, did not do other work at home, married women could not work, no alcohol, no tobacco, no gambling, and no gathering of employees outside of work. Ford believed that these were the rules that all men should live by. There were three

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