Abstract
Between May 22, 1920 and January 14, 1922, The Dearborn Independent published a series of anti-Semitic articles entitled “The International Jew.” The articles, warnings about Jewish control of nearly every facet of American life, were largely inspired by the themes of the infamous Eastern European forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This thesis will examine The International Jew, comparing it to the older The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and analyze its influence on the creation of a distinctive American anti-Semitism before, during, and immediately following World War II. Utilizing primary sources in the form of the original printings of The International Jew and The Protocols, it will analyze the similarities and distinctive differences between the two documents. Further, memoirs, newspaper articles, and published propaganda materials are used in order to understand the popular reception of the documents, arguing that The International Jew was responsible for disseminating the ideas found in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to the broader American public by reactionary political and religious leaders of the early to mid-twentieth century.