A movement advocating the belief in the identity of Anglo-Saxons with the biblical “Lost Tribes of Israel”.
Religion: Christianity
Denomination: British Israelism
Founded: 1930s
Location: United States
Other Names: Church of the Anglo-Saxon Federation
The Anglo-Saxon Federation of America, established by Howard Rand in 1930, stands as a significant organization within the British Israelism movement. This movement promulgates the belief that the people of the British Isles, particularly those of Anglo-Saxon descent, are the direct descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Rand initiated his efforts in 1928, organizing a group dedicated to these ideals in his home and launching a British-Israelite magazine titled Kingdom Message. By early 1930, Rand, alongside William J. Cameron, who later became president of the federation, founded the group’s first branch in Detroit, Michigan. This marked the beginning of a series of expansions, including state conventions and the establishment of additional branches across the United States.
The Anglo-Saxon Federation of America experienced rapid growth throughout the early 1930s, fueled by Rand’s organizational skills and Cameron’s influential connections, including his role as the editor of Henry Ford’s The Dearborn Independent. Their collaboration aimed to intertwine British-Israel religious concepts with far-right political ideologies. The federation’s outreach efforts were notably aggressive during the Great Depression, attempting to disseminate British-Israelism across the American right-wing spectrum.
Despite its expansion, the federation faced internal disputes leading to a split between Rand and Cameron in 1938, resulting in the relocation of its headquarters to Haverhill, Massachusetts. Post-World War II, the federation saw a decline, with only the Portland, Oregon branch remaining active into the mid-1960s. Although the group’s membership dwindled by the mid-1970s, the federation continued its activities, including book publishing and accepting new members.
Central to the group’s ideology is the assertion that the Bible identifies the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, with criteria suggesting Great Britain and, by extension, the United States, fulfill the biblical prophecies regarding Israel. The federation’s beliefs also played a pivotal role in the transition from British Israelism to the Christian Identity movement, with Rand being credited for introducing an anti-Semitic element to the ideology in the 1920s, despite not advocating for Jewish inferiority or demonization.
In the broader context, British-Israelism and its associations, including the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America, have been instrumental in shaping certain far-right and white supremacist ideologies in the United States. This includes the influence on groups like the Aryan Nations and its absorption of the two-seedline theory popularized by Wesley Swift, linking British-Israelism with white supremacist beliefs.
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