-
First Ladies
- Dolley Madison’s Life before James Madison – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison’s Life before James Madison – Quiz
- Dolley Madison as First Lady – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison as First Lady – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Slavery – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Slavery – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Politics – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Politics – Quiz
- Dolley Madison and Constitutional Thinking – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison and Constitutional Thinking – Quiz
- Dolley Madison: A Model for Our Times – Constitutional Conversations – VIDEO
- Dolley Madison: A Model for Our Times – Quiz
- Eleanor Rosalynn Carter – Lesson
- Eleanor Rosalynn Carter – Quiz
- Abigail Adams – The Second First Lady – Lesson
- Abigail Adams – The Second First Lady – Quiz
- Dolley Madison – America’s First First Lady? – Lesson
- Dolley Madison – America’s First First Lady? – Quiz
- Elizabeth Monroe – the Fifth First Lady – Lesson
- Elizabeth Monroe – the Fifth First Lady – Quiz
- Louisa Adams: The First First Lady Born Outside the US – Lesson
- Louisa Adams: The First First Lady Born Outside the US – Quiz
- Anna Harrison – The First Lady Who Never Made It to the White House – Lesson
- Anna Harrison – The First Lady Who Never Made It to the White House – Quiz
- First Lady Julia Tyler – Started a Tradition Still in Use Today – Lesson
- First Lady Julia Tyler – Started a Tradition Still in Use Today – Quiz
- Sarah Polk – A Very Religious First Lady – Lesson
- Sarah Polk – A Very Religious First Lady – Quiz
- First Lady Rachel Jackson Never Made It to the White House – Lesson
- First Lady Rachel Jackson Never Made It to the White House – Quiz
-
American Artists
-
Veterans
-
Founding Fathers
-
Famous Women
-
Poets
- Emily Dickinson – The Myth – Lesson
- Emily Dickinson – The Myth – Quiz
- Edgar Allan Poe – Inventor of Modern Detective Stories – Lesson
- Edgar Allan Poe – Inventor of Modern Detective Stories – Quiz
- Robert Frost – One of America’s Favorite Poets – Lesson
- Robert Frost – One of America’s Favorite Poets – Quiz
- T.S. Eliot – The Poet Who Gave Cats Secret Names – Lesson
- T.S. Eliot – The Poet Who Gave Cats Secret Names – Quiz
- Walt Whitman – America’s Poet of the People – Lesson
- Walt Whitman – America’s Poet of the People – Quiz
- E.E. Cummings – Making Poetry into Puzzles – Lesson
- E.E. Cummings – Making Poetry into Puzzles – Quiz
- John Keats and the Rise of Romantic Poetry – Lesson
- John Keats and the Rise of Romantic Poetry – Quiz
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Most Famous American of His Day – Lesson
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Most Famous American of His Day – Quiz
-
Poetry
- Renaissance Poetry and History’s Most Famous Poet – Lesson
- Renaissance Poetry and History’s Most Famous Poet – Quiz
- Epic Poetry: The Earliest Literary Art Form – Lesson
- Epic Poetry: The Earliest Literary Art Form – Quiz
- Neoclassical Poetry Favored Ancient Greek and Roman Styles – Lesson
- Neoclassical Poetry Favored Ancient Greek and Roman Styles – Quiz
- Romanticism – An Emotional Era of Poetry – Lesson
- Romanticism – An Emotional Era of Poetry – Quiz
- Victorian Poetry – Lesson
- Victorian Poetry – Quiz
- Modernist Poetry and Ezra Pound – Lesson
- Modernist Poetry and Ezra Pound – Quiz
- Postmodernism – A New Era of Poetry – Lesson
- Postmodernism – A New Era of Poetry – Quiz
-
Inventors
Henry Ford and the Moving Assembly Line – Lesson
He invented a process that made the car accessible to average Americans.
Henry Ford is often credited with inventing the automobile, but, in reality, Ford invented a process called the moving assembly line, which helped transition automobiles from a luxury good to a product that middle-class Americans could afford. He used the method to mass-produce his Model T vehicle, revolutionizing transportation in a way that changed the world forever.
Ford Invents Moving Assembly Line
After building the Quadricycle – a gasoline-powered vehicle – Ford started the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903. Just five years later, the company revealed the Model T, a revolutionary vehicle that “became so popular at one point that a majority of Americans owned one,” according to History.com.
Formerly an employee of the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit, Ford used his engineering background to develop the world’s first moving assembly line, which used conveyor belts to move parts to workers, who would then assemble each section of a Model T. Ford devised the process after observing “continuous-flow production” in breweries, flour mills, and meatpacking plants.
Ford’s invention significantly improved production speed, reducing the time it took to build one Model T from nearly half a day to just over 90 minutes. “When I’m through, about everybody will have one,” Ford said.
‘Tin Lizzie’
Ford’s Model T is often referred to as a “Tin Lizzie” – but the story behind the playful nickname is unclear. Some believe “Lizzie” was just a common name that people gave to horses, and the nickname was naturally carried over to Ford’s “horseless carriage,” another popular early 20th-century term for a motor vehicle.
Others claim it stems from a 1922 race at Pikes Peak, CO, where racer Noel Bullock called his Model T “Old Liz.” Bullock’s car had seen better days, and, according to observers, it resembled a tin can. Thus, the name “Tin Lizzie” was born.
Home Life
Henry Ford was born to William and Mary Ford on a farm in Dearborn, MI, in 1863. When he was just 16 years old, Ford decided to become a machinist and moved to Detroit in search of apprentice work. He returned to his family’s farm at 19, but his interest in machines and engines never ceased. When not working on the farm, Ford serviced steam engines and worked in factories before marrying Clara Bryant in 1888.
For the next few years, Ford ran a sawmill to make ends meet, but eventually the pair moved to Detroit. Within two years, Ford became chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company, and his only child, Edsel Bryant Ford, was born.
After establishing the Ford Motor Company, Ford faced widespread criticism for his political views, which included opposition to US involvement in World War I. Ford ran for the US Senate in 1918, “narrowly losing in a campaign marked by personal attacks from his opponent,” History.com noted.
After briefly stepping away, Ford became president of Ford Motor Company once again in the wake of his son’s death in 1943. Two years later, Ford gave control of the company to his grandson, Henry Ford II. In 1947, Ford passed away in his home in Dearborn at age 83. The company Ford started more than 120 years ago still operates to this day.
- Henry Ford invented the moving assembly line, an efficient production method that used a conveyor belt to move parts around for workers.
- Ford’s Model T was also known as a “Tin Lizzie.”
- Ford revolutionized transportation in America and around the world.