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From Muscles to Motors on the Farm: Henry Ford and the Great American Tractor Wars, 1910-1930

October 5, 6:00 PM

A lecture by Milton C. Sernett

Henry Ford’s Fordson Tractor, like his Model T, was both a technological marvel and an instrument of social change; this illustrated lecture will invoke memories of life and work on American family farms before the age of agribusiness.

The Fordson tractor, first mass-produced in 1918, gave farmers a reliable but affordable source of power. Henry Ford’s entry into the tractor business sparked a conflict in the farm machinery industry that had long-term consequences for American life on and off the farm.

The transition from horse power to tractor power, from muscles to motors, took place during an era of rapid social change in American life. Farm families were trying to adjust to new marvels everywhere--airplanes, automobiles, electricity on the farm, telephones, radio, consolidated rural schools, indoor plumbing, rural free delivery, better roads, and refrigeration.

The lecture use rare images from the archives of the great tractor manufacturers and depictions of the seasons of agricultural work before the factory farm replaced the family farm. These visual cues will encourage the sharing and preservation of memories of farm life among all members of your community.

Cape Vincent Community Library

For further information about this event, please contact:

Sharon D. Briggs
Phone: (315) 654-2132

http://capevincentlibrary.org

This lecture is a part of the Speakers in the Humanities program.