Becoming the Motor City: a Timeline of Detroit's Auto Industry

Becoming the Motor City: a Timeline of Detroit's Auto Industry PDF Author: Paul Vachon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781681063232
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Well over a century ago, a cadre of self-trained mechanics, machinists, and other tradesmen started tinkering in the small, cramped machine shops near downtown Detroit. Despite their varied technical ideas, professional ambitions, and personal temperaments, they worked towards a common goal: to revolutionize personal transportation by capitalizing on the recently developed internal combustion engine.The intercession of Providence determined that the likes of Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, John and Horace Dodge, and others called the same city home. None of them "invented" the automobile, but their shared imagination, grit, and persistence were responsible for giving birth to an industry arguably responsible for the most profound changes in Twentieth Century American life.Their descendants maintained their legacy, and in so doing created the middle class, equipped the Arsenal of Democracy with the hardware needed for the Allied victory over the Axis, and set in motion the postwar suburban boom.Modern day Detroit is inseparable from its signature industry and still today continues to lead the world in charting the future of mobility. Detroit Automotive History: An Illustrated Timeline shares insights about how the industry and the city grew, prospered, and ultimately suffered together. Detroit author and historian Paul Vachon revisits the timeline format in this new exploration into the depths of Detroit's automotive history. Through photos, stories, and history, he paints a vivid picture of the city's past.

Becoming the Motor City: a Timeline of Detroit's Auto Industry

Becoming the Motor City: a Timeline of Detroit's Auto Industry PDF Author: Paul Vachon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781681063232
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Well over a century ago, a cadre of self-trained mechanics, machinists, and other tradesmen started tinkering in the small, cramped machine shops near downtown Detroit. Despite their varied technical ideas, professional ambitions, and personal temperaments, they worked towards a common goal: to revolutionize personal transportation by capitalizing on the recently developed internal combustion engine.The intercession of Providence determined that the likes of Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, John and Horace Dodge, and others called the same city home. None of them "invented" the automobile, but their shared imagination, grit, and persistence were responsible for giving birth to an industry arguably responsible for the most profound changes in Twentieth Century American life.Their descendants maintained their legacy, and in so doing created the middle class, equipped the Arsenal of Democracy with the hardware needed for the Allied victory over the Axis, and set in motion the postwar suburban boom.Modern day Detroit is inseparable from its signature industry and still today continues to lead the world in charting the future of mobility. Detroit Automotive History: An Illustrated Timeline shares insights about how the industry and the city grew, prospered, and ultimately suffered together. Detroit author and historian Paul Vachon revisits the timeline format in this new exploration into the depths of Detroit's automotive history. Through photos, stories, and history, he paints a vivid picture of the city's past.

Moon Michigan

Moon Michigan PDF Author: Paul Vachon
Publisher: Moon Travel
ISBN: 1640497390
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 773

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Book Description
Moon Michigan reveals the best of the Great Lake State's charming small towns, vibrant cities, and vast, untouched wilderness. Inside you'll find: Strategic, flexible itineraries for 3-to-4-day trips to Mackinac Island, the Upper Peninsula, wine country, Detroit, and Ann Arbor Unique experiences and can't-miss sights: Get your fill of vintage vehicles at Detroit's industrial museums, like the GM Showroom or the historic Ford House, or immerse yourself in the sounds of the Motown Museum. Watch hundreds of technicolor butterflies in the Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House, nibble on rich fudge, and unwind on a romantic carriage ride around the island. Browse the art galleries of Ann Arbor, sip chardonnay on a scenic tour of wine country, or explore Michigan's booming craft beer scene along an ale trail The best outdoor activities: Embark on Michigan's best hikes, from family-friendly day treks to rugged dune-scaling adventures. Hit the links at the top golf resorts, cruise along the Pictured Rocks, or relax on a serene, sunny beach. Spend a day fishing and boating and spot moose, elk, and black bears in their natural habitats. Set up camp under a crystal-clear summer sky or cross-country ski through pristine winter snow Expert advice from Detroit local Paul Vachon on when to go, how to get around, and where to stay, from campsites and motels to golf resorts and lakeside lodges Full-color photos and detailed maps throughout Thorough information on the landscape, climate, wildlife, and history With Moon's local insight and practical tips, you can experience Michigan your way. Exploring more of the Midwest? Try Moon 52 Things to Do in Chicago or Moon Ohio. About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.

Detroit's Wartime Industry

Detroit's Wartime Industry PDF Author: Michael W. R. Davis
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738551647
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Just as Detroit symbolizes the U.S. automobile industry, during World War II it also came to stand for all American industry's conversion from civilian goods to war material. The label "Arsenal of Democracy" was coined by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt in a fireside chat radio broadcast on December 29, 1940, nearly a year before the United States formally entered the war. Here is the pictorial story of one Detroiter's unique leadership in the miraculous speed Detroit's mass-production capacity was shifted to output of tanks, trucks, guns, and airplanes to support America's victory and of the struggles of civilians on the home front.

Breaking the Banks in Motor City

Breaking the Banks in Motor City PDF Author: Darwyn H. Lumley
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786454148
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
This history tells the relatively unknown story of how the Detroit automobile industry played a major role in the 1933 banking crisis and the subsequent New Deal reforms that drastically changed the financial industry. Spurred by failed decision making and conflicts of interest by automobile industry leaders, Detroit banks experienced a critical emergency, precipitating the federal closure of banks on March 4, 1933, the first in a series of actions by which the federal government acquired power over economics previously held by states and private industrial and financial interests.

Cruisin' the Original Woodward Avenue

Cruisin' the Original Woodward Avenue PDF Author: Anthony Ambrogio
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439616825
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
In the 1950s, cruising swept the nation. American street became impromptu racetracks as soon as the police turned their backs. Young people piled into friends cars and cruised their main streets with a new sense of freedom. Pent-up desires after the hardships of World War II plus a booming economy fueled a car-buying frenzy. To lure buyers to their particular makes and models, automobile companies targeted the youth market by focusing on design and performance. No place was that more relevant than on metro Detroits Woodward Avenue, the citys number-one cruising destination and home of the worlds automobile industry. Barely 50 years earlier, Henry Ford rolled his first Model T off the assembly line at Piquette and Woodward, just south of where cruisers, dragsters, and automobile engineers ignited each others excitement over cars. This unique relationship extended into the muscle car era of the 1960s, as Woodward Avenue continued to reflect the triumphs and downturns of the industry that made Detroit known throughout the world.

Forging Global Fordism

Forging Global Fordism PDF Author: Stefan J. Link
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691207976
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
A new global history of Fordism from the Great Depression to the postwar era As the United States rose to ascendancy in the first decades of the twentieth century, observers abroad associated American economic power most directly with its burgeoning automobile industry. In the 1930s, in a bid to emulate and challenge America, engineers from across the world flocked to Detroit. Chief among them were Nazi and Soviet specialists who sought to study, copy, and sometimes steal the techniques of American automotive mass production, or Fordism. Forging Global Fordism traces how Germany and the Soviet Union embraced Fordism amid widespread economic crisis and ideological turmoil. This incisive book recovers the crucial role of activist states in global industrial transformations and reconceives the global thirties as an era of intense competitive development, providing a new genealogy of the postwar industrial order. Stefan Link uncovers the forgotten origins of Fordism in Midwestern populism, and shows how Henry Ford's antiliberal vision of society appealed to both the Soviet and Nazi regimes. He explores how they positioned themselves as America's antagonists in reaction to growing American hegemony and seismic shifts in the global economy during the interwar years, and shows how Detroit visitors like William Werner, Ferdinand Porsche, and Stepan Dybets helped spread versions of Fordism abroad and mobilize them in total war. Forging Global Fordism challenges the notion that global mass production was a product of post–World War II liberal internationalism, demonstrating how it first began in the global thirties, and how the spread of Fordism had a distinctly illiberal trajectory.

Detroit

Detroit PDF Author: Paul Vachon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781681061801
Category : Detroit (Mich.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Let's talk a walk"š€š"a long walk, back over three centuries. At the dawn of the eighteenth century Detroit was established as simply an outpost for the French to take advantage of the fur trade while keeping the British at bay. Over the subsequent 300 plus years this small settlement advanced to become a regional hub of commerce, a focal point of nineteenth century industrial strength, and ultimately the nexus of the auto business--the industry that redefined mobility and in doing so changed the course of world history. Detroit's long evolution occurred along an often rocky path, marked by a devastating fire, military conquests, conflicts with southern slave hunters, a burgeoning population, all while enduring persistent racial tensions and insurrection. As the Arsenal of Democracy the city proved essential to the allied victory in World War II; but the following decades proved ruinous. As the city bled people and resources, whole areas were decimated--yet nonetheless poised for a rousing comeback. This book points out many of the seminal events and noteworthy turning points of Detroit's long journey, some little known: the city's fall to the British during the War of 1812, the existence of slavery in Detroit as late as the 1820s, and Mayor Hazen Pingree's aggressive advocacy for the everyday citizen against corporate interests. Chapters devoted to the twentieth century highlight Detroit's underappreciated architectural heritage, the development of its notable cultural institutions, as well as the exploits of assorted scoundrels, such as the Black Legion, the Purple Gang, Harry Bennett and Father Charles Coughlin. Triumphant sports teams, the contributions of religious leaders, and courage of civil rights leaders are all brought to life, completing this chronological sketch of America's city of the straits.

A History Lover's Guide to Detroit

A History Lover's Guide to Detroit PDF Author: Karin Risko
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467135674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Detroit's auto heritage is known worldwide, but this fascinating city's history runs much deeper. Step inside the tiny recording studio where Berry Gordy, a young entrepreneur who faced tremendous prejudice, created a music empire that broke down racial barriers. Tour Art Deco masterpieces so spectacular they're called cathedrals to commerce and finance. Walk in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Cobo Hall, where he first delivered his I Have a Dream speech. Join Karin Risko for an intimate tour of the city that put the world on wheels and discover an amazing history of innovation, philanthropy, social justice and culture.

General Motors

General Motors PDF Author: Michael W. R. Davis
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738500195
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
The General Motors Corporation was established in 1908 by William C. Durant, who combined the Buick, Oldsmobile, and Oakland companies and, later, Cadillac, to form GM. From the 1920s onwards, GM grew from a firm that accounted for about 10% of new car sales in the U.S. to become the largest producer of cars and trucks in the world. The peak of the company's power and market dominance came in the 1960s, which proved to be the decade of change for the U.S. auto industry. With the introduction of federal safety regulations and control tailpipe emissions, GM's position as the world's largest industrial corporation changed. Its marketing strategy was undone by competitive challenges, and the business was never to be the same again. General Motors: A Photographic History explores the growth of the company in a series of over 200 black-and-white images. From the first assembly line to post-Second World War recovery, images from the world auto shows and the consequent re-organization of GM take the reader on an intriguing visual tour of a tremendously important era in the industrialization of America.

Driving Detroit

Driving Detroit PDF Author: George Galster
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812222954
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
For most of the twentieth century, Detroit was a symbol of American industrial might, a place of entrepreneurial and technical ingenuity where the latest consumer inventions were made available to everyone through the genius of mass production. Today, Detroit is better known for its dwindling population, moribund automobile industry, and alarmingly high murder rate. In Driving Detroit, author George Galster, a fifth-generation Detroiter and internationally known urbanist, sets out to understand how the city has come to represent both the best and worst of what cities can be, all within the span of a half century. Galster invites the reader to travel with him along the streets and into the soul of this place to grasp fully what drives the Motor City. With a scholar's rigor and a local's perspective, Galster uncovers why metropolitan Detroit's cultural, commercial, and built landscape has been so radically transformed. He shows how geography, local government structure, and social forces created a housing development system that produced sprawl at the fringe and abandonment at the core. Galster argues that this system, in tandem with the region's automotive economic base, has chronically frustrated the population's quest for basic physical, social, and psychological resources. These frustrations, in turn, generated numerous adaptations—distrust, scapegoating, identity politics, segregation, unionization, and jurisdictional fragmentation—that collectively leave Detroit in an uncompetitive and unsustainable position. Partly a self-portrait, in which Detroiters paint their own stories through songs, poems, and oral histories, Driving Detroit offers an intimate, insightful, and perhaps controversial explanation for the stunning contrasts—poverty and plenty, decay and splendor, despair and resilience—that characterize the once mighty city.