Conspiracy Theory
March 16, 2005 8:06 AM Subscribe
What is the origin of the often-used phrase "conspiracy theory?"
I don't think there's an origin per se. It's just that some people concoct elaborate theories about stuff that they attribute to some sort of a conspiracy, hence "conspiracy theory."
posted by scratch at 8:12 AM on March 16, 2005
posted by scratch at 8:12 AM on March 16, 2005
Wikipedia would be a good start... it seems screwed up this morning, so I'll give you this resource. Apparently conspiracy theories go back over 100 years with the Freemasons, etc.
posted by rolypolyman at 8:13 AM on March 16, 2005
posted by rolypolyman at 8:13 AM on March 16, 2005
I'm not sure there's an origin, so to speak, though the movie of the same name probably popularized the phrase a bit.
posted by staresbynight at 8:19 AM on March 16, 2005
posted by staresbynight at 8:19 AM on March 16, 2005
I don't think the poster's asking when discussoins of conspiracies started. In the sixties there were a number of theories bandied about re: the JFK killing -- and "conspiracy theory" got popularized as the headline label for the idea that oswald did not act lone (the "lone-nut" theory). I don't think you'll find that phrase used in that way prior (maybe the Pearl Harbor investigation?)
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2005
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2005
Response by poster: Yeah, I meant, when did that phrase as a single unit enter the public lexicon, or appear in a newspaper editorial?
Maybe it doesn't have an origin per se, but what's the earliest usage?
posted by sonofsamiam at 9:01 AM on March 16, 2005
Maybe it doesn't have an origin per se, but what's the earliest usage?
posted by sonofsamiam at 9:01 AM on March 16, 2005
I was able to trace "conspiracy theory" as far back as January 27, 1877 in The Fitchburg Sentinel via NewspaperArchive.com.
"David Dudley Field continued his examination of witnesses Friday morning to sustain his presidential conspiracy theory. Brush, telegraph operator at Tallahassee, testified as to certain despatches which he claims to have heard from over the wires.... [that] a despatch went from Z Chandler to Gov. Stearns to this effect -- 'Bismarck should be at or near Tallahassee immediately.'"
That might be a reprint of information from the national news wires. What it is in regard to I have no idea, but there is a lot about David Dudley Field in Google.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:53 AM on March 16, 2005
"David Dudley Field continued his examination of witnesses Friday morning to sustain his presidential conspiracy theory. Brush, telegraph operator at Tallahassee, testified as to certain despatches which he claims to have heard from over the wires.... [that] a despatch went from Z Chandler to Gov. Stearns to this effect -- 'Bismarck should be at or near Tallahassee immediately.'"
That might be a reprint of information from the national news wires. What it is in regard to I have no idea, but there is a lot about David Dudley Field in Google.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:53 AM on March 16, 2005
It is said that "In July 1997 the supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary included the term 'conspiracy theory' for the first time" - not that this answers your question - but it seems to hint at a more recent origin.
I'd be guessing media. Just not sure how to track it. Phrasal origin sites I looked at were empty.
posted by peacay at 10:00 AM on March 16, 2005
I'd be guessing media. Just not sure how to track it. Phrasal origin sites I looked at were empty.
posted by peacay at 10:00 AM on March 16, 2005
In July 1997 the supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary included the term 'conspiracy theory' for the first time" - not that this answers your question - but it seems to hint at a more recent origin.
Yeah, but if you look at the OED entry it has citations going back to 1909. And our friend rolypolyman has uncovered an earlier one above.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:16 AM on March 16, 2005
Yeah, but if you look at the OED entry it has citations going back to 1909. And our friend rolypolyman has uncovered an earlier one above.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:16 AM on March 16, 2005
That'll learn me to spend 15mins in preview while I go out for a cig.
The OED supp. is available online? Oh. I thought it was like $1000 a year.
posted by peacay at 3:21 PM on March 16, 2005
The OED supp. is available online? Oh. I thought it was like $1000 a year.
posted by peacay at 3:21 PM on March 16, 2005
Maybe it doesn't have an origin per se, but what's the earliest usage?
You'll never know. You can document earlier and earlier uses of a phrase as you find them, going further and further back, more or less forever. But you'll never be able to tell conclusively that you've found "the first." What you can find is major spikes in popularization, a couple of which have already been mentioned. But this whole "origin" quest is a boondoggle.
posted by scarabic at 6:33 PM on March 16, 2005
You'll never know. You can document earlier and earlier uses of a phrase as you find them, going further and further back, more or less forever. But you'll never be able to tell conclusively that you've found "the first." What you can find is major spikes in popularization, a couple of which have already been mentioned. But this whole "origin" quest is a boondoggle.
posted by scarabic at 6:33 PM on March 16, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:10 AM on March 16, 2005