Category Archives: Conspiracy thinking

Are Conspiracy Theories Central to U.S. Political Debate?

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by in Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, Donald Trump

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Anne Applebaum’s piece in Slate argues that

we have been blessed in recent history by a political system that has, for the most part, kept them [conspiracy theories] outside the mainstream of American political life. With the possible exception of the anti-masonic movement in the 19th century and some of the madder moments of the Nixon presidency, conspiratorial thinking has never been central to the political debate.

She goes on to say that Americans have had a “longstanding aversion to conspiracy theory.”

I couldn’t disagree more. One need only read the work of Robert Goldberg, Richard Hofstadter, and Kathryn Olmsted to see the centrality of conspiratorial thinking. The list of significant events and experiences in U.S. history tied to conspiracy theories is long: The American Revolution, the political battles of the 1790s, Andrew Jackson’s fight against Nicholas Biddle’s Bank, northern accusations about a “slave power” conspiracy and southern accusations about an abolitionist conspiracy, the Know Nothings, the Populist party, the two Charles Lindberghs and their fear of the military-industrial complex and FDR’s fascist intentions (respectively), fundamentalist Christian accusations that FDR was the Antichrist, Area 51, McCarthyism, the John Birch society, the multiple political assassinations of the 1960s, the moon landing, the Iran-Contra affair, Waco, Ruby Ridge, Oklahoma City, Hillary Clinton’s “vast right-wing conspiracy,” Vince Foster and Whitewater, the New World Order, 9/11 truthers, weapons of mass destruction, birthers, Sandy Hook–the list goes on and on.

Applebaum’s larger point is that Donald Trump’s supporters “prefer satisfying stories.” Earlier this week, I wrote that comparisons of Trump and Andrew Jackson missed the mark. Buried in that post was the suggestion to look at why people are drawn to politicians such as Trump. In his case, despite his outrageous remarks and claims, Trump seems to have tapped the inner fears that have always been present in U.S. society. His ability to do so and to use those fears to vault himself to the top of the Republican party’s list of presidential candidates says more about American voters than it does about him.

Debunking the Lincoln-Kennedy Federal Reserve Meme

21 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Abraham Lincoln, Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, John F. Kennedy, Presidents

≈ 12 Comments

There is a meme circulating on Facebook that seems to be based on the conspiracy theory that Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were assassinated by the Rothschilds because they wanted to “end the federal reserve banking system.” Let’s pick this meme apart to see how historically accurate it is.

1. There was no federal reserve system when Lincoln was president. The Federal Reserve System was not established until 1913.

2. Prior to the Federal Reserve System, there had been a national bank*, and Andrew Jackson had made its end one of his key second-term goals.

3. Two assassins attempted to kill Jackson, but no evidence suggests that they were sent by the Bank.**

4. Some people have emphasized the eerie similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy, which are easily explainable.

* There were two national banks, in fact: The 1st Bank of the U.S., which was chartered from 1791-1811 and the 2nd Bank of the U.S., chartered from 1816-1836.

** There is that pesky Booth letter, though.

The Freemasonic Conspiracy and the U.S. Government Shutdown

17 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking

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During last night’s vote to reopen the U.S. government, one of the House of Representatives’ stenographers took control of the microphone and began denouncing the U.S. Constitution and its writers because of their Freemasonic ties. No one seems to know her motivation for making the pronouncements at that time, although stress certainly seems a plausible explanation.

What interested me about the episode is how seems to demonstrate the long-lasting belief that the Founders were participants in a Freemasonic conspiracy. This thinking helped to spawn the first third party in U.S. politics, the Anti-Masonic party, and has been the foundation of a number of conspiracy theories about the actual origins and objectives of the U.S. government that continue to find believers even today.

I’ll be talking about this outburst in class today, where we will be finishing up a discussion about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I also expect that I’ll find it useful as an illustration when I teach the conspiracy theories course in the spring semester.

Essential Readings on Conspiracy Thinking

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking

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I’ve written previously about the usefulness and necessity of examining conspiracy theories, and I also provided an outline of my conspiracy theories course.

Several weeks ago, a student approached me asking for reading suggestions  about conspiracy theories. The request provided a good opportunity to write a blog post that I’ve wanted to write outlining the essential readings on conspiracy thinking.

Some of the works listed below provide the intellectual and theoretical framework for understanding the conspiratorial mindset, while others provide a narrative on specific conspiracy theories. Many of the monographs  offer overviews of conspiracy thinking and theories in their introductions.

Primary Source Compilations

Donald T. Critchlow, John Korasick, and Matthew C. Sherman, eds., Political Conspiracies in America: A Reader (2008)

David Brion Davis, ed.,  The Fear of Conspiracy: Images of Un-American Subversion from the Revolution to the Present (1971)

Comment: Both books are good. Davis’ is older, but it’s more diverse in its coverage of topics.

Secondary Sources (Books)

Robert Alan Goldberg, Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America (2001)

Daniel Pipes, Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From (1997)

Kathy Olmsted, Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 (2008)

David Aaronovitch, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History (2009)

Comment: Pipes and Aaronovitch take a more global view of conspiracy thinking, while Goldberg and Olmsted focus on the U.S. Both of the latter have strengths: Goldberg’s introduction is a good historical overview of American conspiracism, while Olmsted’s book is more up-to-date.

Secondary Sources (Essays/Articles)

David Brion Davis, “Some Themes of Counter-Subversion: An Analysis of Anti-Masonic, Anti-Catholic, and Anti-Mormon Literature,” Mississippi ValleyHistorical Review 47 (September 1960): 205-24.

Comment: This article offers an incisive analysis of Early Republic conspiracy thinking.

Robert A. Goldberg, “‘Who Profited from the Crime?’ Intelligence Failure, Conspiracy Theories, and the Case of September 11,” Journal of Intelligence and National Security 19 (Summer 2004): 249-261.

Comment: This essays supplements Goldberg’s book (see above).

Richard Hofstadter, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” in The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996), 3-40.

Comment: Although the original essay was published in 1964, it has held up well. This is the first thing I have my students read in the conspiracy theories class.

Gordon S. Wood, “Conspiracy and the Paranoid Style: Causality and Deceit in the Eighteenth Century,” William & Mary Quarterly 39 (July 1982): 401-441.

Comment: An insightful and important explanation of the influence of conspiracy thinking during the Revolutionary era.

At some point, I want to write about other important books and articles that are more narrowly focused on specific eras or theories. But if you’re looking for some introductory material, the above suggestions should keep you busy.

Just remember:

Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and the Illuminati

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Beyonce, Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, Jay-Z

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Readers may remember that last year, someone uncovered the link between the Mayans, Madonna, and the Antichrist. Madonna had better look out, because someone else is moving into her territory.

And let’s not forget that Beyoncé and Jay-Z are controlled by the Illuminati.

Americans’ Belief in Conspiracy Theories

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking

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Researchers at Fairleigh Dickinson University recently demonstrated what my regular readers already know: Americans believe in conspiracy theories.

According to their telephone poll of registered voters across the United States, 63% of those polled believed at least one of the following conspiracy theories:

  • Barack Obama is hiding something about his background
  • George W. Bush had prior information about the 9/11 attacks
  • Republicans stole the presidential election of 2004
  • Democrats stole the presidential election of 2012

A more complete breakdown of the results is linked above, but here’s a sample:

75% of Republicans vs. 56% of Democrats believe one of the four conspiracy theories.

36% of those polled (64% Repubs. v. 14% Dems. v. 33% Indeps. ) believe the birther theory about Obama.

25% (36% of Dems. vs. 12% Repubs. vs. 22% Indeps.) believe the 9/11 truther theory about Bush.

The researchers point out that education lessens the tendency to believe in a conspiracy theory, although that result bore itself out more among educated Democrats than educated Republicans.

One last interesting tidbit: 75% of African Americans vs. 62% of whites believed in at least one conspiracy theory.

The 40th Anniversary of Jesus’ Rapture

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Conspiracy thinking, Fundamentalist Christianity

≈ 2 Comments

This year marks the anniversary of the Christian cult film A Thief in the Night. In the 1980s, I watched this film and at its sequels during a string of Saturday night showings at Highland Park Baptist Church. The irony of seeing these films, which featured “worldly” dress Christian rocker Larry Norman’s music, at the home church of the fundamentalist Tennessee Temple University escaped me then.

Amy Frykholm has written a retrospective piece examining the film’s influence on American evangelical culture.

The film had an enormous impact on evangelical culture and shaped its attempts to influence American popular culture more directly through music, film, and books. Religion scholar John Walliss, who has written extensively on the movie and its aftermath, says, “Just as Alfred North Whitehead said that all of philosophy is a footnote to Plato, so we might say that all of evangelical Christian film is a footnote to A Thief in the Night.” This film inspired people from across the political and social spectrum. Marilyn Manson, who like so many saw the film at church as a child, wrote in his autobiography The Long Road Out of Hell, “I was thoroughly terrified by the idea of the end of the world and the Antichrist. So I became obsessed with it, watching movies like … A Thief in the Night, which described very graphically people getting their heads cut off because they hadn’t received 666 tattoos on their forehead.” At the other end of the social spectrum, young Christian filmmakers Peter and Paul LaLonde likewise saw the film as children, and later founded Cloud Ten Pictures, which produced the Left Behind: The Movie, which was adapted from Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ massively popular book.

The entire film series is available on Youtube:

By the way, Frykholm mentioned the Left Behind movies in her piece. Nicholas Cage is reportedly interested in taking over the character of Buck Williams, played by Kirk Cameron in the original Left Behind movie, in a remake. That would make it a disaster movie in more than one way.

Mitt Romney and the White Horse Prophecy

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, Mitt Romney, Mormonism

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Recently, I invited three LDS missionaries to speak to my American Presidency students. Considering the possible “Mormon moment” that might arise from a Romney campaign win, I thought it made sense to hear the church’s perspective. The three young men, who took time from their personal day to make the visit, were polite and gracious, but we didn’t learn much about Romney. A couple of students and I asked, in several different ways, about the intersection between faith and politics within the church, but the only response was that the church allows its members latitude to support whomever they want politically and does not officially endorse any candidate.

I wish I had asked about the “white horse prophecy.” If you aren’t familiar, Joseph Smith Jr. allegedly said that the United States would face an unprecedented constitutional crisis that threatened the nation’s future, only to be saved by the “white horse,” or the LDS Church. This prophecy has gotten some media attention, with Salon, NPR, and other news outlets mentioning it.

I find the whole idea silly, but like with fundamentalist Christian eschatology, people on both sides of the aisle take it seriously.

How Useful Is a Course on Conspiracy Theories?

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, Teaching

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How I see myself: Mild-mannered history professor who recognizes 2Pac

The conspiracy theories course wrapped up yesterday with a discussion about the differences between actual conspiracies and conspiracy theories and the students’ evaluation of the most influential conspiracy theories. We closed out by listening to songs by 2Pac and Green Day that contain conspiratorial allusions and claims.

Based on students’ reactions and my own observations, I think the course was a success. But does success equate to usefulness?

I think so, and Jeff Pasely’s post earlier this week explains why.* A reader of John Fea’s blog made the following comment about professional historians’ criticism of David Barton:

So that’s where I believe you, and your fellow professional historians and educators need to continue to focus your efforts. Keep teaching our children the actual history of America, and teach them about the scientific method and to think critically about history and historical evidence. Show them how to recognize a conspiracy theory when they see one, and that there are no short cuts in the quest for knowledge, no matter how convincing they may seem.

I am sure you are doing all of those things — though I would be interested to hear if there was a venue in college where professors can teach students (not just history students) about the likes of Barton and their duplicitous ways. Perhaps there is a place for offering a general course on skepticism and conspiracy theories given how prevalent they have become in America today (and not just in the field of history)?

How my students see me after taking the conspiracy theories course: Jeff Bridges in Arlington Road

Pasley’s response: “That is a good idea, though I can tell you students do not always like it when you rain on their moon landing hoax parade, or spend too much time on Antimasons.”

In my case, I think my conspiracy theories students have learned to think critically about the messages disseminated by the media (both formal and informal).**

* Pasley’s post addressed criticism of John Fea for not criticizing David Barton.

**And if they are convinced that Cumberland University, with its phoenix and Cordell Hull connection, is somehow connected to the Illuminati, then it was a wildly successful semester.

Brief Review of Kathryn Olmsted, Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Books, Conspiracy theories, Conspiracy thinking, Kathryn Olmsted

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Kathryn Olmsted’s Real Enemies is an excellent survey of conspiracy theories in the 20th-century United States. A history professor at UC-Davis, Olmsted makes three arguments. First, the U.S. government perpetrated conspiracies against American citizens in response to alleged anti-government conspiracies. In response, Americans constructed alternative conspiracy theories to explain the conspiracy theories that the government used to cover up its own conspiracies. When the U.S. government criticized and cracked down on the creators and supporters of the alternative conspiracy theories, Americans developed conspiracy theories to explain the government’s suppression.

It sounds confusing, but Olmsted’s presentation is clearer than my own. Let me give you an example. During the Cold War, the U.S. government approved the assassination of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. When John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas in November 1963, the federal government did not fully disclose all of the information surrounding the assassination in order to protect the Kennedy administration and its culpability in the attempts on Castro’s life. To explain the gaps, Americans, many of them ordinary citizens, looked for evidence to explain how a lone gunman could kill the “leader of the free world.” When criticism arose from the media and the government, these citizens attributed the criticism to a government plot to silence and discredit them.

Olmsted addresses World War I, Pearl Harbor, McCarthyism, the JFK assassination, Watergate, 9/11, and various conspiracy theories of the 1970s-1990s, including Roswell, Iran-Contra, and the distribution of crack in the African American community. I was surprised by how often Dick Cheney’s name was attached to various conspiracies and conspiracy theories over the past four decades. Perhaps he’s the alien overlord or the Antichrist?

Olmsted concludes with the argument that conspiracy theorists “help to keep American democracy healthy and inform the public debate” (235). They demand government transparency, which is a good thing (236). But she admits that “the costs of conspiracy theories far outweigh their benefits” (236). Their paranoia and insistence on an absolute good vs. evil narrative “injects toxins into the public discourse” and “hinder the process of historical discovery” by ignoring evidence that does not fit their firm belief in conspiracism (236).

I recommend this book for anyone interested in American conspiracy theories.