Comments on: Conspiracy Theory

Question: Conspiracy Theory

sonofsamiam — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:06:02 -0800

What is the origin of the often-used phrase "conspiracy theory?"

By: dflemingdotorg

dflemingdotorg — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:08:45 -0800

The government.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:10:27 -0800

My guess is the JFK assassination.

By: scratch

scratch — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:12:31 -0800

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."

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:13:49 -0800

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.

By: staresbynight

staresbynight — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:19:41 -0800

I'm not sure there's an origin, so to speak, though the movie of the same name probably popularized the phrase a bit.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:24:40 -0800

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?)

By: jjg

jjg — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:49:50 -0800

What makes you think it has an "origin"?

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:01:23 -0800

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?

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:53:32 -0800

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.

By: peacay

peacay — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:00:48 -0800

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.

By: peacay

peacay — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:02:50 -0800

Oops........ link

By: Johnny Assay

Johnny Assay — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:16:13 -0800

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.

By: peacay

peacay — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:21:10 -0800

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.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 18:33:10 -0800

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.