William John ("Billy") Cameron (1878-1955) was a newspaper editor most well known for his work at ''

The Dearborn Independent ''The Dearborn Independent'', also known as ''The Ford International Weekly'', was a weekly newspaper established in 1901, and published by Henry Ford from 1919 through 1927. The paper reached a circulation of 900,000 by 1925, second only to the ...

'', where he was responsible for publishing a series of anti-Semitic articles known as "

The International Jew ''The International Jew'' is a four-volume set of antisemitic booklets or pamphlets originally published and distributed in the early 1920s by the Dearborn Publishing Company, an outlet owned by Henry Ford, the American industrialist and aut ...

". He also was influential in the

British Israel British Israelism (also called Anglo-Israelism) is the British nationalist, pseudoarchaeological, pseudohistorical and pseudoreligious belief that the people of Great Britain are "genetically, racially, and linguistically the direct descendant ...

movement, helping

Howard Rand Howard Rand, also known as Howard B. Rand and Howard Benjamin Rand (June 13, 1889 – October 17, 1991) was a lawyer, inventor, and three-time candidate for Massachusetts state office on the Prohibition Party ticket, He headed the former Anglo-Sax ...

launch the

Anglo-Saxon Federation of America The Anglo-Saxon Federation of America is a British Israelite group founded by Howard Rand in 1930. History Beginnings In 1928, Howard B. Rand, a lawyer and Bible student, began organizing for the British-Israel World Federation and started cond ...

Early life

William J. Cameron was born in Hamilton,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, in 1878. His family moved to Michigan for a brief time, but he returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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 ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'', eventually moving up to become chief editorial writer where he wrote an editorial column called ''Reflections.''

Working for Ford

After being recommended by E.G. Pipp, whom Cameron had worked for at the Detroit News,

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

hired him to work for ''

'', a newspaper Ford had purchased. Working for the ''Dearborn Independent'', Cameron was the principal writer of a series of articles that were later published as the booklet

. When Pipp left the ''Independent'' over the publishing of the

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

articles, Cameron became chief editor of the paper 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 British Israelism (also called Anglo-Israelism) is the British nationalism, British nationalist, Pseudoarchaeology, pseudoarchaeological, Pseudohistory, pseudohistorical and Pseudoreligion, pseudoreligious belief that the people of Great Britai ...

, but author

Michael Barkun __NOTOC__ Michael Barkun (born April 8, 1938) is an American academic who serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious ex ...

speculates that he was raised in the tradition by his father.

had been an organizer 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

. Cameron become the new organization's first president with Suite 601 of the Fox Building in Detroit as the headquarters. Detroit hosted the 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 The Dearborn Inn, A Marriott Hotel, is a luxurious historic hotel, conceived by Henry Ford, who saw a need for food and accommodations for visitors flying into the nearby Ford Airport (Dearborn), Ford Airport, making it one of the first airport h ...

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 at Ford, Cameron was most certainly an alcoholic. This made for some conflict with Ford, who was known to be a

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...

. 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 would be getting alcohol, Ford would have it closed down. Cameron's drinking also caused friction with Howard Rand, who had run for Massachusetts state office on the Prohibition Party ticket. It is not clear whether Cameron's drinking problem caused the ultimate breach between them, but Cameron ceased to play a significant role in the federation after the late 1930s, and the headquarters was moved from Detroit where Cameron lived, to Massachusetts where Rand was located.

Unity Church

Seeking help and solace regarding her husband's drinking, Mrs. Cameron had turned to the Missouri-based

Unity Church Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is an organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. It grew out of Transcendentalism and became part of the New Thought movement. Unity is known for its '' Daily Word'' devotional publica ...

. Following the death of Henry Ford in 1947, Cameron quit drinking altogether, left British-Israelism, and joined Unity Church. He eventually entered the Unity ministry and in 1949 moved to

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California as an assistant minister, a position he held until his death in 1955.

Books

*''Economics of the Bible''

References

Additional Sources

* The Reminiscences of Mr. Fred L. Black https://cdm15889.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15889coll2/id/2393/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, William J. British Israelism 1878 births 1955 deaths Antisemitism in the United States 20th-century American newspaper editors