[rotorwrench]

There is plenty of evidence that Henry was hard on Edsel but Edsel knew how to get what he wanted. He would have been the type to defend his father even though he wasn't always treated all that well. Henry bought out the Lincoln manufacturing concern partly to goad Henry Leyland (they had a history) and to give Edsel a marque that he could do whatever he wanted with. I think he hoped that it would keep his son from always wanting to change the Ford line. Henry was slow to admit when it was time to change things. Edsel likely dealt with a lot of anxiety when dealing with his father and about his decisions of the Ford company operations as a whole. Even though his father was there, he still had to keep the major body of the company functioning on a day to day basis. Edsel really got majorly involved with the building of the Willow run B-24 Bomber plant. This was about the time he really started having stomach problems. The alcohol consumption and the axiety are know risk factors for his type of cancer. He was an over achiever and took it personally if something didn't go right with the company so he likely would still have been affected even without his fathers adding to the fire.

Ford motors would definitely not been the same company without him. He was the good guy to the employees that his father lacked. His eye for good design made Ford what it became. Henry Ford II did OK at Ford but he would have been a lot better if his father had been there to help him. It just wasn't meant to be, unfortunately.