BTW the term “Conspiracy theory” goes back to at least the 1880s.
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/nope_it_was_always_already_wrong
The term itself might only go back that far, but the concept of some sort of conspiracies (plural) trying to control one’s life is embedded in America’s body politic, and goes all the way back to the Founding. A professor from Florida wrote a book about it, and I’m kicking myself for not remembering the title.