1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910825494503321

Autore

DeHaven-Smith Lance

Titolo

Conspiracy theory in America / / Lance deHaven-Smith

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Austin, : University of Texas Press, 2013

ISBN

0-292-74911-2

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (273 p.)

Collana

Discovering America

Disciplina

364.10973

Soggetti

Conspiracies - United States - History

Conspiracy theories - United States - History

Political culture - United States - History - 20th century

Political culture - United States - History - 21st century

United States Politics and government 1945-1989

United States Politics and government 1989-

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

""List of Illustrations and Tables""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction: High-Crime Blind""; ""1. The Conspiracy-Theory Label""; ""2. The American Tradition of Conspiracy Belief""; ""3. Conspiracy Denial in the Social Sciences""; ""4. The Conspiracy-Theory Conspiracy""; ""5. State Crimes against Democracy""; ""6. Restoring American Democracy""; ""Appendix: CIA Dispatch #1035-960""; ""Tables""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""

Sommario/riassunto

Ever since the Warren Commission concluded that a lone gunman assassinated President John F. Kennedy, people who doubt that finding have been widely dismissed as conspiracy theorists, despite credible evidence that right-wing elements in the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service—and possibly even senior government officials—were also involved. Why has suspicion of criminal wrongdoing at the highest levels of government been rejected out-of-hand as paranoid thinking akin to superstition? Conspiracy Theory in America investigates how the Founders’ hard-nosed realism about the likelihood of elite political misconduct—articulated in the Declaration of Independence—has been replaced by today’s blanket condemnation of conspiracy beliefs as ludicrous by definition. Lance deHaven-Smith reveals that the term



“conspiracy theory” entered the American lexicon of political speech to deflect criticism of the Warren Commission and traces it back to a CIA propaganda campaign to discredit doubters of the commission’s report. He asks tough questions and connects the dots among five decades’ worth of suspicious events, including the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, the attempted assassinations of George Wallace and Ronald Reagan, the crimes of Watergate, the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deal, the disputed presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, the major defense failure of 9/11, and the subsequent anthrax letter attacks. Sure to spark intense debate about the truthfulness and trustworthiness of our government, Conspiracy Theory in America offers a powerful reminder that a suspicious, even radically suspicious, attitude toward government is crucial to maintaining our democracy.