Henry Ford vs Chicago Tribune

Henry Ford was forced to go to court again when the Chicago Tribune called him an ignorant man "incapable of thought". Henry Ford was sued for a million dollars but counter sued the Chicago Tribune for libel, seeking damages. The Chicago Tribune took the defense that libel is not libel if it's true. In court the paper set out to demonstrate that Henry Ford

• didn't know when the American Revolution was,
• didn't know who Benedict Arnold was, and
• thought the War of 1812 was a revolution.

Henry Ford was uneducated

Henry Ford, uneducated and poorly read, was unable to answer any of their questions in court. The paper scored a coup when it got Henry Ford to make the widely quoted statement that "All history is bunk."

Henry Ford 's complete quote was actually:

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today."

Henry Ford eventually won the lawsuit but the unsympathetic jury awarded Henry Ford exactly six cents in damages. Public opinion about the Henry Ford trial was divided. Some felt Henry Ford was a hard working, self-made American who had been crucified by a snobby, elitist press. Others felt Henry Ford had demonstrated such prejudice and insensitivity that he deserved a set down.

After the public embarrassment of Henry Ford 's trial, Henry Ford seemed to experience a change of heart about history and tradition. Perhaps Henry Ford was also setting out to prove something to himself and others about his alleged indifference to culture and history.