William John Cameron

William John ("Billy") Cameron (1878–1955) was a newspaper editor most well known for his work at The Dearborn Independent, owned by Henry Ford, where he was responsible for publishing a series of antisemitic articles known as "The International Jew". He also was influential in the British Israel movement, helping Howard Rand launch the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America.

Early life William J. Cameron was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1878. His family moved to Michigan for a brief time, but he returned to Canada for high school, and then some courses at the University of Toronto. In 1904, Cameron began working as a staff reporter at the Detroit News, eventually moving up to become chief editorial writer where he wrote an editorial column called Reflections.

Working for Ford Dearborn independent 1927 06 11 aAfter being recommended by E.G. Pipp, whom Cameron had worked for at the Detroit News, Henry Ford hired him to work for The Dearborn Independent, a newspaper Ford had purchased.

Working for the Dearborn Independent, Cameron was the principal writer of a series of antisemitic articles that were later published as the booklet The International Jew. Pipp left the Dearborn Independent over the publishing of these articles, and subsequently Cameron became the paper's chief editor until it ceased publication in 1927. From the mid-1920s to the early 1940s, he also handled all of Ford's personal press relations.

Cameron also gave a weekly talk on The Ford Sunday Evening Hour, a radio program that ran from October 1934 until March 1942.

British-Israelism It is not known for certain when Cameron became interested in British Israelism, but author Michael Barkun speculates that he was raised in the tradition by his father.

Howard Rand had been an organizer for the British-Israel World Federation and in early 1930 he met with Cameron in Detroit to establish a new British-Israel group in the US: the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America. Cameron become the new organization's first president with Suite 601 of the Fox Building in Detroit as its headquarters. Detroit was the location of the Federation's first convention in May 1930.

Cameron was also a lay preacher and was known to give lectures on British Israelism. In 1933 he gave a series of lectures at The Dearborn Inn where he posited his view of the Bible as a racial book.

Alcoholism

Mrs. Stanley Ruddiman, a friend of Henry Ford's, suggests that Cameron may have had a drinking problem as early as his days at the Detroit News, believing he started drinking there to be "one of the boys." By the time he started working for Ford, Cameron was most certainly an alcoholic. This made for some conflict with Ford, who was known to be a teetotaler. Ford had concern for Cameron and tried to help prevent him from drinking when he could, providing him an attendant, and medical care at Henry Ford Hospital. Ford viewed Cameron's alcoholism as an illness that could be cured. During the days of Prohibition, when Ford would find out about a place where Cameron was getting alcohol, Ford would have it closed down.

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