Long Before Modern Politics, Conspiracy Theories Shaped the American Revolution

A new conversation traces how suspicion and rumor helped drive the founding generation toward independence.

Conspiracy theories are often treated as a distinctly modern affliction, but they were woven into the founding of the United States, according to journalist and author Jesse Walker, who discussed the subject with Judy Woodruff on her podcast "In Pursuit of Happiness," as reported by PBS NewsHour.

Walker's conversation examined how conspiratorial thinking circulated among American colonists in the years leading up to the Revolution, shaping public sentiment and political decisions at a pivotal moment in the nation's history.

The discussion places today's swirl of political rumor and suspicion in a longer historical context, suggesting that fears of hidden plots and secret manipulation have accompanied American democracy since its earliest days rather than emerging solely from the internet age.

— Compiled from reporting by PBS NewsHour.