46 | JUNE 4 • 2020
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
Trump’s Henry Ford Gaffe
Y
ou may have read
about President Donald
Trump’
s recent trip to a
Ford Motor Company factory
in Ypsilanti, Michigan. There,
he gave some well-deserved
praise for the company and its
volunteer workers
who made a very
quick conversion
from making auto
parts to making
sophisticated hos-
pital equipment
that was in short
supply when
COVID-19 struck
America — ventilators.
Trump, however, also added
a most controversial comment
in reference to the Ford family:
“The company, founded by a
man named Henry Ford. Good
bloodlines, good bloodlines. If
you believe in that stuff, you got
good blood.
”
Why are these remarks a big
deal? Because they show a lack
of historical knowledge and
sensitivity.
The reasons for controver-
sy began when Ford bought
the Dearborn Independent in
1919. The Independent was
published until 1927 when an
abundance of lawsuits related to
its anti-Semitism finally ended
its publication. Ford claimed he
had no control, or even aware-
ness, of the Independent’
s edi-
torial processes. This is hard to
believe, since Ford was known
for controlling all aspects of his
businesses, but it is a notion that
is also hard to disprove.
Finally, Aaron Sapiro, a
Jewish activist with Western
farming cooperatives, brought
the most famous case against
Ford, which resulted in a
Ford apology for anti-Semitic
remarks and the closing of the
Independent in 1927. Ironically,
Ford commissioned Jewish law-
yer Louis Marshall to write the
apology for him.
During Ford’
s ownership, the
widely read Independent became
famous as an anti-Semitic
newspaper. Two examples from
its pages amply demonstrate
this point. On May 22, 1920,
one day and 100 years prior to
Trump’
s visit to Michigan, the
front page of the Independent
featured the story “The
International Jew: The World’
s
Problem.
”
Two months later, on July 10,
1920, the newspaper published
the notorious “Protocols of the
Elders of Zion,
” a debunked,
forged propaganda hoax that
promulgated the idea that
Jews controlled world finance
in order to control the world.
Admired by Adolf Hitler, this
bogus text is still promoted
today by neo-Nazis and other
assorted right-wing extremists.
A search in the William
Davidson Digital Archive of
Jewish Detroit History demon-
strates that the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle published reports and
editorials about the anti-Sem-
itism of the Independent. For
example, read three
headlines from the
era: from the July
16, 1920 issue —
“The Flivver King
— Emperor of the
Anti-Semites”
(Ford was called
the “Flivver King” in refer-
ence to the nickname for the
famous Model T); from Oct. 15,
1920 — “
Appearance of Ford’
s
Anti-Semitic Pamphlets
Draw Fire of New York
Rabbis — Insult to Public
Opinion”; or from Feb. 16,
1921 — “Detroit Jews Unite
in Hurling Challenge for
Ford to Prove Charge [Ford
claimed he was a victim].
”
This is a very brief
summary of a century-old
issue. Hopefully, it pro-
vides a bit of evidence as
to why Trump’
s remarks
were indeed a big deal.
It should be empha-
sized that since Henry
Ford II took command
of the company in
1945, the Ford fam-
ily have been great
friends to Detroit’
s
Jewish community.
They have done
much to atone for
the anti-Semitism
of the original
Henry Ford. The bloodlines
from Henry Ford II onward are
indeed something the family
can be proud of.
Want to learn more? Go to the
DJN Foundation archives, available
for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
of Fords
ets
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ublic
b. 16,
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