October 7: TODAY in Irish History:
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Curated by Conor Cunneen IrishmanSpeaks 
Conor is a Chicago based Motivational Humorous Business Speaker, Author and History buff.
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1913: Henry Ford Assembly Line
Irish American Henry Ford institutes the first moving assembly line for the auto industry. Henry Ford’s father William Ford was born in County Cork and was one of many to emigrate from Ireland due to poverty and famine. Ford visited Ireland in 1912, 65 years after his dad had emigrated and again in 1917 when he established the Ford plant in my native Cork city.
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Ford assembly line
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Ford was a mass of contradictions in many ways. He was a visionary, yet also a reactionary in many ways. Of the Model T Ford he said, “I will build a motor car for the multitude. It shall be large enough for the family, but small enough for the unskilled individual to operate more easily and care for and it shall be light in weight that it may be economical in maintenance…. It shall be so low in price that the man of moderate means may own one and enjoy with his family the blessings of happy hours spent in god’s great open spaces’
He introduced the automated assembly line which helped his Model T vision come through and then followed it in 1914 offering the unthinkable wage of $5 per day, doubling the previous rate in a successful effort to dramatically reduce labor turnover.
The visionary Ford was slow to respond to changing consumer trends. “You can have any car you want as long as it is black, ” is a wonderful line, but not a wonderful marketing strategy. The loss of market share to newcomer General Motors forced Ford to shut down the River Rouge assembly line in 1927 to “re-tool” for a new car – the Model A. Ford has never regained leadership in the car market.
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1960: Second JFK and Nixon televised debate.
This debate was deemed to be more even than the first debate where it was generally agreed Kennedy performed better. Nixon looked fresher and healthier as both candidates energetically debated civil rights, unemployment, foreign policy and what to do with Cuba. (Some things never change!)
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Kennedy Nixon Debate 2
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SEE: Complete Second Kennedy Nixon Debate
While Kennedy’s Irish heritage is well known, Nixon had also strong Irish heritage. Nixon had Irish connections on both sides. Thomas Milhouse of Timahoe emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1729 was an ancestor of Hannah Milhouse – Nixon’s mother. Not something we tend to broadcast too much!
SEE: More on the FIRST Kennedy Nixon debate.
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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish
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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker and award winning humorist IrishmanSpeaks – Conor Cunneen. If you spot any inaccuracies or wish to make a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment button.
Visit Conor’s YouTube channel IrishmanSpeaks to Laugh and Learn.
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Today In Irish History 
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