Conspiracy theories / by Micah L. Issitt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Issitt, Micah L., author.

Series:

Opinions throughout history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Conspiracy theories--United States--History.

Conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories--United States--History--Sources.

United States.

Genre:

Reference works.

History.

Sources.

Physical Description:

xli, 718 pages : illustrations, map ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amenia, NY : Grey House Publishing, [2023]

Summary:

"Did the U.S. government hide evidence of UFOs? Were some of the Founding Fathers members of a satanic cult? Is there a secret cabal of wealthy billionaires controlling the world from behind the scenes? American culture is unique in the degree to which conspiracy theories have been incorporated into the fabric of American society, finding support even among America{u2019}s popular leaders and major public figures. This volume of Opinions looks at the unfolding of some of the biggest conspiracy theories in the history of America{u2014}from the assassination of JFK, to the alleged links between vaccines and autism, to QAnon and the imagined pedophilia ring of the 'deep state.' Looking deeper into the origins and development of these theories will reveal how fear and mistrust have shaped American popular culture and continue to shape attitudes about the perceived secret, hidden nature of America, the world, and even the universe. ... Each chapter starts with a brief Introduction, List of Topics Covered, and the source document discussed in the chapter. The body of the text discusses the document from its historical context to its relationship to contemporary public opinion. Most documents are reprinted in their entirety and clearly distinguished by a shaded title bar. In addition to helpful subtitles, photos and other images enhance the text, and sidebars provide a profile of an individual who has espoused, legitimately or for personal or financial gain, a conspiracy theory of the time period being discussed" -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Historical Timeline

Revolutionary Conspiracies : conspiracy in the Revolutionary Era (1760-1798)

Illuminating Mythology : the Illuminati in reality and fantasy (1776-present)

The Boys' Club : the Freemasons and the Anti-Freemason movement (1820-present)

The Popish plots : fear of Romanism and the power of the papacy (1830-present)

Think of the children : Catholic abuse and sexual perversion in conspiracy theories (1836-present)

A deadly fear : the origin of the anti-vaccination movement (1879-present)

The gold gamblers : the Populist Party and the international gold ring (1895-present)

The myths of Zion : Jewish conspiracies and the threat of Zionism (1903-present)

Anti-capitalism : the Anarchist movement and the threat to capitalism (1901-present)

The new world order : the first Red Scare and the new world order (1915-present)

Denying Genocide : Holocaust denial in the past and present (1941-present)

Fears of the establishment : The Red Scare and McCarthyism (1945-present)

Psychological warfare : U.S. drug experimentation (1953-present)

Desert visions : Area 51 and the alien conspiracies (1955-present)

The Umbrella Man : Kennedy assassination conspiracies (1963-present)

Death of a dream : conspiracies of the Civil Rights Movement (1968-present)

Bad Moon rising : the Moon landing hoax (1969-present)

The October surprise : the Reagan era and the Iran conspiracy (1980-present)

Satanic influence : spiritualism, Satanism, and the 1980s Satanist scare (1980-present)

The Gay plague : conspiracy theories about HIV/AIDS (1981-present)

An existential threat : the conspiracy to sow doubt about climate change (1996-present)

Spectrum of distrust : the vaccine autism scare (1998-present)

Cold-blooded politics : the reptile conspiracy (1999-present)

The three towers : conspiracy theories about 9/11 (2001-present)

Gun control as a conspiracy : the Sandy Hook Massacre and the gun control movement (2012-present)

How not to protect children : the QAnon movement (2017-present)

The conspiracy pandemic : the COVID pandemic and science denial (2019-present)

The Big Lie : the 2020 presidential election controversy (2020-present)

Conclusion : flattening the Earth

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 679-704) and index.

ISBN:

9781637005170

1637005172

OCLC:

1346293480