An Immeasurable Legacy
The impact Henry Ford had on the world is almost immeasurable. His introduction of the automobile into the mass market transformed agricultural economies in the United States and even around the world into prosperous industrial and urban ones. Many historians credit him with creating a middle class in America. His mass production techniques provided work that many people (even the less educated) could do, and he paid them well for doing it. His high minimum wages were revolutionary at the time, but these "profit-sharing" programs set a precedent for fair distribution of company wealth that greatly influenced later management practices.
And of course, there were the cars themselves. Henry Ford's curiosity and enterprising nature were directly responsible for a long list of automotive innovations, many of which we take for granted today, from the V-8 engine to safety glass.
As an outdoorsman, Henry Ford was deeply conscious of the impact his industry had on the delicate natural world. He implemented practices that were progressive for his time—replacing wood with steel to conserve forests, using lighter materials to increase fuel efficiency, even prohibiting the use of crowbars to open wooden crates so as not to damage the potentially reusable lumber.