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Many Americans believe that their own government is guilty of shocking crimes. Government agents shot the president. They faked the moon landing. They stood by and allowed the murders of 2,400 servicemen in Hawaii. Although paranoia has been a feature of the American scene since the birth of the Republic, in Real Enemies Kathryn Olmsted shows that it was only in the twentieth century that strange and unlikely conspiracy theories became central to American politics. In particular, she posits World War I as a critical turning point and shows that as the federal bureaucracy expanded, Americans grew more fearful of the government itself—the military, the intelligence community, and even the President. Analyzing the wide-spread suspicions surrounding such events as Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, Watergate, and 9/11, Olmsted sheds light on why so many Americans believe that their government conspires against them, why more people believe these theories over time, and how real conspiracies—such as the infamous Northwoods plan—have fueled our paranoia about the governments we ourselves elect. This 10th Anniversary Edition includes a new epilogue on conspiracy theories and the 2016 election and its aftermath.
Introduction
Ch. 1 The Consent of the People: Presidential Secrecy and the First World War
Ch. 2 Lying Us into War?: The Second Battle of Pearl Harbor
Ch. 3 Masters of Deceit: Red Spies and Red Hunters in the McCarthy Era
Ch. 4 The Dealey Plaza Irregulars: The JFK Assassination and the Collapse of Trust in the 1960s
Ch. 5 White House of Horrors: Nixon, Watergate, and the Secret Government
Ch. 6 Trust No One: Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories from the 1970s to the 1990s
Ch. 7 Cabal of Soccer Moms 9/11 and the Culture of Deceit
Conclusion
Epilogue: Conspiracy Theories Are For...Winners?: The 2016 Election and Its Aftermath
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Description
Many Americans believe that their own government is guilty of shocking crimes. Government agents shot the president. They faked the moon landing. They stood by and allowed the murders of 2,400 servicemen in Hawaii. Although paranoia has been a feature of the American scene since the birth of the Republic, in Real Enemies Kathryn Olmsted shows that it was only in the twentieth century that strange and unlikely conspiracy theories became central to American politics. In particular, she posits World War I as a critical turning point and shows that as the federal bureaucracy expanded, Americans grew more fearful of the government itself—the military, the intelligence community, and even the President. Analyzing the wide-spread suspicions surrounding such events as Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, Watergate, and 9/11, Olmsted sheds light on why so many Americans believe that their government conspires against them, why more people believe these theories over time, and how real conspiracies—such as the infamous Northwoods plan—have fueled our paranoia about the governments we ourselves elect. This 10th Anniversary Edition includes a new epilogue on conspiracy theories and the 2016 election and its aftermath.
