Research Paper on:
Analysis of Douglas Brinkley’s Article, “Prime Mover”

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Ford and his Model T resided near the top of these lists. Although Ford did not invent the automobile, once known as the horseless carriage nor did he ever  claim to, his marketing genius and entrepreneurial expertise made his name synonymous with four-wheel transportation. One of Fords biographers, Douglas Brinkley, considers the impact of the Model T in  his article entitled "Prime Mover." This article is a masterful reconstruction of the Model Ts evolution from the historical vantage point of the early twentieth century, and relies upon  the commentary and observations of people, both famous and ordinary, to tell its story. This article describes the mass production of the Model T as a watershed moment in  American history, and its claims are legitimate because of three crucial points it makes to establish validity. First, it illustrates how the affordability aspect of the Model T quickly  transformed it from being regarded as a frivolous commodity to the consensus that such transportation was absolutely necessary. Next, the article discusses the cultural impact this technological marvel had  on an America that was, in the early twentieth century primarily rural while at the same time completely changed urban industrialized society. Third, Brinkley demonstrates how the Model T  completely changed the notion that capitalism was a practice reserved only for the affluent. As Brinkleys narrative reveals, it was Henry Ford, not his Model T that was the prime  mover and shaker of the Americas consumer economy. The Model T was not the first mass-produced automobile but it was unquestionably the most affordable. When it was first  introduced, the car sold for $850, "a price within reach of the thrifty common man" (Holmstrom, 1998, p. 2). By the time of World War I, the law of