The Power of PEOPLE.

• Author: COHEN, PATRICIA
• Position: Brief Article

Henry Ford wasn't the first person to build an automobile. A French company had a five-year head start on him. He wasn't even the first American to produce cars in great numbers.

But Ford, who was the son of an immigrant Irish farmer and lived in Dearborn, Michigan, did something far more consequential. By refining the design, cutting costs, and bringing the assembly line to automobile production, Henry Ford built an inexpensive car--the $805 Model T--that became an instant popular sensation.

Ford's ability to deliver technology to the population at large revolutionized the world's industry, culture, and lifestyle. But his story is actually the story of many Americans who helped build the country's power and influence. America's reach around the globe today--whether measured by Star Wars or by McDonald's hamburgers--is largely the product of their imagination, talent, and skill.

Many of those individuals overcame poverty or vicious discrimination, like jazz genius Louis Armstrong; Jackie...