Men who Built America By Jonathan Johnson Breeanna Murphy Brennen Moores

Henry Ford

History Henry Ford became an icon of a self-made man. He began life as a farmer's son and quickly became rich and famous. Although an industrialist, Ford remembered the common man. He designed the Model T for the masses, installed a mechanized assembly line to make production cheaper and faster, and instituted the $5 per day pay rate for his workers.

History Henry Ford became an icon of the self-made man, an industrialist who continued to care for the common man. However, Henry Ford was also anti-Semitic. From 1919 to 1927, his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, published about a hundred anti-Semitic articles in addition to an anti-Semitic pamphlet called "The International Jew."

Fun Facts Until this day the Ford company still manufactures cars in Detroit. It expanded to own Jaguar and Volvo. Members of the Ford family still work in the automotive industry.

Steve Jobs

Fun Facts He worked with Steve Wozniak for Atari game systems before Apple Computers. They reportedly were paid $5,000 for their work of which he shared $375 with Wozniak. We all probably know that Steve Jobs began Apple Computers, Inc., in 1976 with Steve Wozniak in his parents’ garage. But there was a third member, Ronald Wayne. After two weeks Ronald left for a one time payment of $800 for his share of Apple stock. Reportedly this stock would be worth $22 billion today.

History Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. His unwed biological parents, Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, put him up for adoption. Steve was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a lower-middle-class couple, who moved to the suburban city of Mountain View a couple of years later.

History The Santa Clara county, south of the Bay Area, became known as Silicon Valley in the early 1950s after the sprouting of a myriad of semi-conductor companies. As a result, young Steve Jobs grew up in a neighborhood of engineers working on electronics and other gizmos in their garages on weekends. This shaped his interest in the field as he grew up. At age 13, he met one the most important persons in his life: 18-year-old Stephen Wozniak, an electronics wiz kid, and, like Steve, an incorrigible prankster.

Milton Hershey

History Milton Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, near Hockersville, Pennsylvania. Following an incomplete rural school education, Hershey was apprenticed at age 15. After two failed attempts, Hershey set up the Lancaster Caramel Co. In 1900 Hershey sold the company, focused on perfecting the formula for chocolate bars, and began building at the site that became the world’s largest chocolate manufacturing plant.

History The founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company, which popularized chocolate candy throughout world, Milton Snavely Hershey was born September 13, He was the only surviving child of Veronica "Fanny" Snavely and Henry Hershey.

History Quickly, the Hershey Chocolate Company's success far exceeded that of its founder's previous venture. His winning ideas included the Hershey Kiss in 1907, which the company's founder named himself. The trademark foil wrapper was added in 1924.

Fred Smith

Facts Nationality: American. Born: August 11, 1944, in Marks, Mississippi. Education: Yale University, BA, Family: Son of Frederick C. (businessman) and Sally (Wallace) Smith; married Linda Black Grisham, 1969 (divorced 1977); married Dianne Avis; children: ten (two from first marriage). Career: Ark Airlines, 1969–1971, owner; Federal Express Corporation, 1971–, founder and president; 1975–, chairman, president, and chief executive officer. Awards: Peter F. Drucker Strategic Leadership Award, 1997; named "CEO of the Year" for 2004 by Chief Executive magazine. Address: FedEx Corporation, 942 Shady Grove Road, Memphis, Tennessee ;

History In 1971 Frederick Wallace (Fred) Smith came up with a revolutionary idea: delivering packages reliably overnight. With the creation of Federal Express Corporation, Smith not only offered an alternative to the mail and more traditional and slower delivery services, but he also created an industry that almost single-handedly changed the way business was conducted. In the process, Smith's company became the first American business to earn $10 billion in profits. By 2004 FedEx was delivering to 210 countries using over six hundred aircraft, 46,000 vehicles, and 141,000 employees. But Federal Express and Smith were not just about providing fast and dependable deliveries to clients worldwide. At the root of the company's success was Smith's tried and true philosophy: people, service, profit (P-S-P). To that end, Smith worked hard at being accessible to his employees and clients with a management style that combined vision, risk-taking, a sense of community, and a tough-minded approach. Read more: Fred-1944.html#ixzz2CgFJpMZX

History While at Yale, Smith intended to study economics and political science. Unfortunately he found himself more drawn to campus social activities, which affected his scholastic performance. However, one incident in his junior year stood out, providing the germ of an idea that later carried Smith to success. For an economics class Smith wrote a term paper that outlined his idea for a company that would guarantee overnight delivery of small, time-sensitive goods, such as replacement parts and medical supplies, to major U.S. cities. The professor was not impressed and gave Smith a grade of C for his work. But Smith's idea stayed with him, though it would be a few more years before he would have the opportunity to try it out. In 1966 Smith graduated with a degree in economics and shortly thereafter enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a second lieutenant, Smith was sent overseas to fight in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Smith would do two tours in Vietnam, enrolling in flight school and eventually flying more than two hundred ground support missions. In July 1969 Smith was honorably discharged at the rank of captain with numerous honors, including a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. In August, Smith married Linda Black Grisham. However, the marriage would not last, and the couple divorced in Read more: html#ixzz2CgG1xM00

Ben Franklin

History Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston in what was then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His father, Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker, had 17 children, seven with first wife, Anne Child, and 10 with second wife Abiah Folger. Benjamin was his 15th child and the last son.

history After publishing another pamphlet, "The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency," Franklin was able to purchase The Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper from a former boss, and was elected the official printer of Pennsylvania. He was also able to take Deborah Read as his common-law wife in 1730, after her husband disappeared after stealing a slave. Their first son, Francis, was born in 1732 (although he died four years later of smallpox).Franklin’s prominence and success grew during the 1730s, especially with the publication of Poor Richard’s Almanack at the end of Franklin amassed real estate and businesses, organized the Union Fire Company to counteract dangerous fire hazards, established a lending library so others could share his passion for reading, and was elected Grand Master of the Pennsylvania Masons, clerk of the state assembly and postmaster of Philadelphia.

History Despite his success at the Boston Latin School, Ben was removed at 10 to work with his father at candle making, but dipping wax and cutting wicks didn’t fire his imagination. Perhaps to dissuade him from going to sea as one of his brothers had done, Josiah apprenticed Ben at 12 to his brother James at his print shop. Ben took to this like a duck to water, despite his brother’s hard treatment. When James refused to publish any of his brother’s writing, Ben adopted the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, and “her” 14 imaginative and witty letters were published in his brother’s newspaper, The New England Courant, to the delight of the readership. But James was angry when it was discovered the letters were his brother’s, and Ben abandoned his apprenticeship shortly afterward, escaping to New York, but settling in Philadelphia, which was his home base for the rest of his life.

Donald Trump Your Fired

History Real estate developer Donald John Trump was born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York. In 1971 he became involved in large profitable building projects in Manhattan. He opened the Grand Hyatt in 1980, which made him the city's best known and most controversial developer. In 2004 Trump began starring in the hit NBC reality series The Apprentice, which also became an offshoot for The Celebrity Apprentice.

History Donald J. Trump started his business career in an office he shared with his father, Fred, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. He worked with his father for five years, where they were busy making deals together. Mr. Trump has stated, “My father was my mentor and I learned a tremendous amount about every aspect of the construction industry from him.” Likewise, Fred C. Trump often stated that “some of my best deals were made by my son, Donald….everything he touches turns to gold.” Mr. Trump then entered the very different world of Manhattan real estate.