Detroit's Auto Industry

            Like most early cities in the United States, Detroit was a small industrial city the thrived on compact housing and hard factory labor. It wasn't until the big auto boom that this city would actually begin to flourish like many of the larger cities of today.

            When the auto industry hit Detroit, Michigan people from all over the country flocked to the city for jobs. There seemed to be an abundance of places to work and there were constantly new auto factories being opened. The auto industry was so big in the area that even when the World War II and the Great Depression occurred people were not as affected as they were in many other places in the world.

            With the promise of $5 a day in 1914, many people flocked to work at Ford. There was a large variety of people from the Midwest, Canada, England, Scotland, Mexico and other Middle Eastern and European countries. However, as the demand of workers grew the immigration from other countries slowly began to dwindle due to the war. This brought Ford to hire many African Americans who began to flock to the city for the large payout and job security.

            The city boomed for many decades and many more big names like Chrysler made their home in the Detroit. However, in the 1970s and 80s things began to change in the auto industry and people began to move the work abroad for cheaper labor. This was a major blow to many workers and led the city to become dominated by many impoverished families that could not find work.

            By the turn of the century, the auto industry was still the main employer in Detroit. However, things would soon begin to get worse as many car companies began to go bankrupt and the price of gasoline pushed more people toward public transportation. Today, the city still struggles with unemployment issues. Perhaps, one day this once great city will make a come back with the auto industry.