Assignment 2: Economic Approaches in the Age of Industrialization (1870-1940)
This paper discusses innovations and changes in the economy between the 1800s and the 1900s. Henry Ford and Madame C. J. Walker pioneered the changes. They both implemented production and marketing strategies for different products. Further, this paper compares how the two economists began their businesses and the basic innovative features that facilitated the success of their businesses. The essay also shares the problems that they experienced, giving a background of the two economists, Henry Ford and Madame C.J Walker.
According to Bundles (1), C.J. Walker was born on December 23, 1867, in the Louisiana Plantation in the same Delta. Her parents were enslaved in this plantation before the Civil War ended. Ms. Walker turned out to be the First Black American self-made woman millionaire. Initially, her name was Sarah Breedlove, and she worked as a sharecropper. In 1890, she suffered from a scalp condition that took away most of her hair. She tried several products but all in vain. Eventually, she went to Denver, where she got a job as a sales agent in a haircare company. One day a black man appeared to her in a dream and gave her some products she would try on her scalp. She did as advised, and her hair grew back. She started her own company, where she made a scalp conditioning and healing formula, which she referred to as Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower (Bundles, 4). Her product caught the attention of media platforms in the country.
Henry Ford was the son of Mary and William formed. He was born in 1863 In Dearborn, Michigan (History.com, 2). Henry began as a mechanic. After marriage, he, together with his wife, operated a sawmill but was later employed as an engineer in the Edison Illuminating Company. When he was appointed as the chief engineer in this company, he spent most of his free time creating a horseless car powered by gasoline. He made the first Quadricycle in 1896 (History.com, 3). He was so determined to keep his project, so he sold his machines. He got various investors, and in 1902, he established the Ford Motor Company, which exists even today. One month later, he released Model A, which was his first car made of two-cylinder, eight-horsepower. In a desire to fulfill the needs of all people, he created Model T in 1908, and the mass production of ford cars continued.
Both Henry Ford and Madame Walker had accomplishments and weaknesses in their experiences. They displayed outgoing features which showed that they would eventually achieve their goals regardless of the challenges that they went through. In the case of C.J. walker, she began by marketing the products of another black woman entrepreneur before opening her own business. She worked for her employer without complaining until she was able to start her company. Similarly, Henry Ford started by working as a mechanic and engineer in the Illuminating Company. He was determined to achieve his primary goal of making an automobile. Some critics in the company of Walker, such as Booker Washington, were afraid that some hair straighteners would help in internalizing white beauty concepts. Walker was may be careful about this as she believed that the man who appeared in her dream was black, and her project was divinely inspired, not emulative of the whites (Gates, 12). Despite all the critics that were leveled against her, C.J. Walker was never discouraged; instead, she took a broader step. One challenge that Henry Ford experienced was when his opponent attacked him personally in campaigns and lost a bid for the senate position in the United States in 1918. The innovative and change approach that I favor in these two cases is that of Madame C. J. Walker. Her economic approach brought illumination on the way forward, regardless of what she was going through with the condition of her scalp. This situation teaches a lesson that no matter what you are experiencing if someone remains focused and executes his/her plans with dedication and hard work, success will come his/her way.
In conclusion, it is my view that the approach and strategy are Madame C. J. Malone makes a lot of sense, even in the contemporary world. Most people in today’s generation, particularly entrepreneurs, believe that two people cannot succeed if they do a similar business project. C. J. Walker worked for a long time with Annie Malone, and they never experienced any serious complications when Walker dreamt of starting her business. Malone accepted the idea of Walker, allowing her to shine in the hair care market. On the other hand, Henry Ford went through so much criticism, but he never lost hope of attaining his ultimate goal. He still admired Adolf Hitler and Germany. Most of the things that human beings go through in their past are meant to inspire and encourage them to keep fighting. If Henry Ford and C.J. Walker had lost hope after going through obstacles, they wouldn’t have become millionaires.
References
- A’Lelia Bundles. d. Madam C. J. Walker: A Brief Biographical Essay. http://www.madamcjwalker.com/bios/madam-c-j-walker/
- com Editors. June 6, 2019. Henry Ford.
https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/henry-ford/
- H. L. Gates. n.d. Madam Walker, the First Black American Woman to Be a Self-Made Millionaire.