Webster and Queenborough made secret societies the prime movers of history

Evidence

More important, Webster and Queenborough added two ideas that turned out to be immensely infl uential in later years: fi rst, that world history could be correctly understood only as the product of the machinations of secret societies; and second, that Jews were central to these activities. By elevating secret societies to the role of prime movers in world history, they left the French Revolution behind, extending the Illuminati’s fi eld of action into the present, including above all a catalytic role in the Russian Revolution. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 274

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pat Robertson mainstreamed an Illuminati conspiracy theory through national stature — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 294; Blavatsky fabricated her Himalayan sources and cobbled together available texts — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 548; Colonial ‘secrets’ were often public knowledge to those living alongside them

Broader Connections

• Colonial ‘secrets’ were often public knowledge to those living alongside them #qualifies (0.75)