SOURCE: "Henry Ford," in The Reputation of the American Businessman, Harvard University Press, 1955, pp. 142-75.

In the following essay, Diamond surveys the obituary assessments of Ford's life and cultural significance as reported in both mainstream and alternative news media.

In 1923, Arthur H. Vandenberg, editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald, sharpened his pen to prick the rapidly swelling "Henry Ford for President" bubble. "Ford has to his debit," the editor wrote, "more erratic interviews on public questions, more dubious quotations, more blandly boasted ignorance of American history and American experience, more political nonsense, more dangerous propaganda, than any other dependable citizen that we have ever known."

On April 9, 1947, the same Arthur H. Vandenberg, now senior United States Senator from Michigan, rose on the floor of the Senate to appraise the automobile manufacturer once again. "Mr. Ford's death," the senator said,

ends one of the most thrilling and...