From a reader:

Jonah: I would count Henry Ford as a great American. He was also an anti-semite. Thomas Jefferson was a great American and a slave holder. You see where I’m going. Is it possible that a person’s contributions to the Country could be so great that you would call them a great American regardless of anti-semitism?

Me: Several readers have made similar points. Sorry, I’m not sold. If you mean by “great” the Thomas Carlyle, “great man of history” great, I think that’s perfectly defensible. But when I use the phrase “great American” I mean it as a compliment. There are lots of “great men” I would never want to emulate. There are few great Americans I wouldn’t want to emulate.

For the record, I don’t hold the view that anti-Semitism automatically disqualifies historical figures from being great Americans — though I would like to think it doesn’t help. But there is an issue of degree here. Slavery was a moral horror, but Jefferson was typical of his age and we don’t need to get into one of those long arguments about whether slavery disqualifies the founders from our admiration to understand the issues involved. Meanwhile, sure anti-Semitism was prevalent, or more prevalent, in Ford’s day but Ford was a real outlier. He was among the chief distributors of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other anti-Semitic theories. While Jefferson is by no means my favorite founding father, I would think a lot less of him if I were to learn that he was a gung-ho booster of slavery and an outright advocate of cruelty to slaves. Similarly, it doesn’t bother me too much when I hear the stray off-putting comment about Jews from, say, a Teddy Roosevelt because there’s a social and historical context to keep in mind. But Henry Ford really went out of his way to demonize Jews. I think that disqualifies him as a great American — again, in my book. But I certainly understand why others may disagree. It’s not like I lose a lot of sleep over my rage at Henry Ford. Nor will I pace the floor swearing vengeance at Romney for announcing his presidential bid at Henry Ford’s pad or wherever that was.

Update: From a reader, speaking for many:

Hey Jonah –
The Henry Ford museum is one of the great museums of autos, industry, American history, and Americana outside the Smithsonian – it’s the only place you can view JFK’s open limo from Dallas and Lincoln’s chair from the Ford Theater under the same roof. Not to be missed if you’re ever in SE Michigan.

Me: Fair enough, I’m sure it’s a great museum and well worth visiting.