http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/911_truth_movement

9/11 Truth Movement: Why America Turns to Conspiracy Theories
Jan 21, 2010 Marilyn Michaud

Conspiracy theories have a long history in American culture.This article provides a brief historical overview and an explanation for why they are rational and necessary.

The tendency to view events through the lens of deception and conspiracy has been part of American culture since the founding. Suspicion was particularly acute in the writing of the American revolutionaries; whether loyalist sympathizers, suspicious Whigs or radical democrats, Americans often adopted conspiratorial and duplicitous modes of interpretation to explain the threat to republican liberty.