The Automobile

"LET [THE HORSE] BE CONSIDERED INDISPENSABLE, AS AN INSTRUMENT, UNTIL SOME BETTER INSTRUMENT ENABLES US TO DISPENSE WITH HIM."
-New York Times Editorial, 1881

Revolution in Transportation

Henry Ford and the first Model T. Speedace.

Although no individual can be credited with the invention of the automobile, Henry Ford was a key figure in replacing the horse as the primary source of transportation. Ford made the car affordable by introducing the assembly line and interchangeable parts. By 1900, 4,192 cars had been sold in the United States and the automobile became cheaper to maintain and operate than horses. By 1912, horses were no longer the main source of transportation in the largest U.S. cities.

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"As the horse shaped the nineteenth-century city, so motor vehicles created the twentieth-century city." -Joel Tarr, The Horse in the City
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Market Street in San Francisco. SF Film Museum. 1906.
"The film from 1906 in downtown San Francisco was made 4 days before the great earthquake destroyed the city 5:12 AM on April 18th, 1906. It is filmed from the front of a cable car, heading east on Market Street." -San Francisco Film Museum

The First Automobile Advertisement. The Mitchell Archives. 1898.

"In the 1850s and 1860s horses triumphed over all other forms of transportation... In the 1890-1900 era, the opposite happened. While earlier steam power seemed more dangerous than horses, electric power and gasoline seemed safer."
-Interview with Dr. Clay McShane

Global Industry

The automobile created new industries and jobs. As new roads were built, the need for maintenance, construction, and fuel increased. The automobile changed global industry as it improved the movement of people and goods, both in and out of cities, contributing to the formation of new companies and the way we live today.

Horseless Carriage Wagon. earlyamericanautomobiles.com. 1896

"LET [THE HORSE] BE CONSIDERED INDISPENSABLE, AS AN INSTRUMENT, UNTIL SOME BETTER INSTRUMENT ENABLES US TO DISPENSE WITH HIM." -New York Times Editorial, 1881

Revolution in Transportation

___________________________"As the horse shaped the nineteenth-century city, so motor vehicles created the twentieth-century city." -Joel Tarr, The Horse in the City____________________________

"In the 1850s and 1860s horses triumphed over all other forms of transportation... In the 1890-1900 era, the opposite happened. While earlier steam power seemed more dangerous than horses, electric power and gasoline seemed safer." -Interview with Dr. Clay McShane

Global Industry

© 2012 Taylor Walsh

"LET [THE HORSE] BE CONSIDERED INDISPENSABLE, AS AN INSTRUMENT, UNTIL SOME BETTER INSTRUMENT ENABLES US TO DISPENSE WITH HIM."
-New York Times Editorial, 1881

_
"As the horse shaped the nineteenth-century city, so motor vehicles created the twentieth-century city." -Joel Tarr, The Horse in the City
__

"In the 1850s and 1860s horses triumphed over all other forms of transportation... In the 1890-1900 era, the opposite happened. While earlier steam power seemed more dangerous than horses, electric power and gasoline seemed safer."
-Interview with Dr. Clay McShane