Conspiracy theory has long filtered how Americans view rival political forces.

Evidence

The United States has harbored real conspiracies, encouraged vigilance against would-be conspirators, and imagined conspiracy where there was none. During critical episodes in American history—in the early days of the republic, for example, and at the time of the Civil War—conspiracist stories shaped national crises. Great contesting forces each cast the other as an enemy of the Constitution and the nation. Conspiracy was the filter through which each side viewed the other. Real or imagined, conspiracism in the past took the form of conspiracy theory—that is, what we call “classic conspiracism.” — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 48

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy belief has long spanned the American political spectrum — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 26; Conspiracy theorizing against out-groups is as old as American colonization itself — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 27; Conspiracy theories inherit the mythic good-versus-evil frame of American religious zealotry. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 55

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy theories inherit the mythic good-versus-evil frame of American religious zealotry. #expands (0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 55