14 February 7 • 2019
jn
MIKE SMITH DJN FOUNDATION ARCHIVIST
On the 100th anniversary of his purchase
of the Dearborn Independent, Ford’
s legacy
is examined by local journalist.
Y
es, our community just
celebrated JN colum-
nist Danny Raskin’
s 100
birthday, but this year also
marks another rather infamous
100th birthday. In January 1919,
The Dearborn Independent, an
18-year-old newspaper, began
publishing under the ownership
of Henry Ford I. It soon earned
a reputation as perhaps the most
anti-Semitic journal in America,
republishing such tracts as “The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion,”
a fabricated, false and slanderous
piece of writing, and the four-vol-
ume series, The International Jew.
In short, these works blamed
the Jews for World War I and
most international political-eco-
nomic problems. In this respect,
as owner of the Independent, Ford
was like many other Americans
of his generation. It was an era
in which 30,000 Ku Klux Klan
(KKK) members in 1925, wear-
ing their signature white robes
with pointy hats, boldly marched
in daylight down Constitution
Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Let me emphatically state at
this point that Henry Ford’
s
severe prejudice does not reflect
in any way upon the modern
Ford Motor Company or the Ford
family itself. Nor does it detract
from the monumental accom-
plishments of Henry Ford, the
entrepreneur and manufacturer
who, more than any other indi-
vidual, was responsible for put-
ting America on wheels, thereby
changing the nature of the 20th
century. But, it is also accurate to
say that Ford had a dark side, and
the history of his personal bias,
like other stories of prejudice, is
still relevant to understanding
today’
s global rise in anti-Semi-
tism.
Indeed, over the past few years,
we have witnessed a sad and
worrying rise in anti-Semitism.
There have been attacks on Jews
in France and other European
nations, and a resurgence of far-
right politics in such places as
Austria, Germany and Poland.
At marches and soccer games,
anti-Semitic slogans are brazen-
ly used as a form of smearing
the opposition. America has
not been immune to this phe-
nomenon. In 2017, there was a
violent “Unite the Right” rally
staged by neo-Nazi adherents
in Charlottesville, Va., and, last
year, the horrific
shooting at the Tree
of Life synagogue in
Pittsburgh, Pa.
It is in this
context of rising
and worrisome
anti-Semitism that
veteran Detroit
journalist Bill McGraw has
written “Henry Ford and ‘
The
jews d
in
the
Bill McGraw
continued on page 16
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“The Jew is a
race that has
no civilization
to point to, no
aspiring religion, no
great achievement
in any realm.”
Henry Ford’s
Dearborn
Independent
Dearborn
Independent
A Special Report: Henry Ford and ‘
Th
Th
Th
Th
Th
Th
The International Jew’
Henry Ford bought The Inde
epe
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pend
nd
den
en
en
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t 10
10
100 ye
year
ars
s
s
s
s ag
ag
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us
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to
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o att
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ack Je
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ws
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Fo
ord
rd
rd
d and
nd
the paper are long gone, but
ut the hat
ate he
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ash
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rne
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e.
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.
Anti-Semitism
The
of Henry Ford
on the cover
Editor’
s Note:
The mayor of Dearborn halted
publication of this journal. See
related story on page 12.
To read McGraw’
s story, visit
deadlinedetroit.com.
DEARBORN HISTORICAL MUSEUM/LAUREN ANN DAVIES