Abstracts
Abstract
Augustin Barruel’s Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism incited the famous “Illuminati scare” in the United States from 1798 through 1800. Barruel argued that a shadowy Freemason group known as the Illuminati had provoked the French Revolution. Americans in the late 1790s inferred that this group was infiltrating the United States. Scholars often imagine that this scare was an instance of mass hysteria triggered by the intensity of American politics at this moment. But in fact, Americans’ response to Barruel was measured, careful, and guided by the era’s prevailing epistemological standards. Atlantic knowledge networks repeatedly validated (or failed to persuasively rebut) the content of the Memoirs, allowing American intellectuals such as Jedidiah Morse and Timothy Dwight to spread the conspiracy theory with the conviction of “authority.” Morse was particularly significant as a mediator between these networks and American audiences. By engaging with literary reviews, the correspondence of academics, and the publications of intellectuals, Morse had good reason to accept Barruel’s account. Indeed, the evidence that Morse and his allies marshalled in favor of Barruel was arguably stronger than that which was available to their critics. In this light, the Illuminati “scare” was not an irrational panic, but rather a reasonable response to the evidence available to Americans during the late 1790s. By re-examining this story through the lens of print history, transatlantic networks, and early modern processes of knowledge production, scholars can better understand the borders and limitations of early modern epistemologies, as well as the nature of early conspiracy theories.
Keywords:
- Conspiracy,
- intellectuals,
- networks,
- print culture,
- French Revolution
Résumé
L’oeuvre d’Augustin Barruel, Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism, déclencha la peur des Illuminati qui sévit aux États-Unis de 1798 à 1800. L’auteur y soutenait qu’un mystérieux groupe associé à la franc-maçonnerie, les Illuminati, avait provoqué la Révolution française. Pour les Américains de la fin des années 1790, c’est aux États-Unis que ce groupe tentait désormais de s’infiltrer. Les chercheurs qualifient souvent cette peur d’hystérie collective, attribuable à l’effervescence qui caractérisait alors le monde politique américain. Or la réaction des Américains à l’oeuvre de Barruel fut au contraire mesurée, prudente et tout à fait conforme aux standards épistémologiques de l’époque. Les réseaux de connaissances transatlantiques validèrent à maintes reprises (ou ne réfutèrent pas de façon convaincante) la thèse de Barruel, ce qui permit à des intellectuels américains comme Jedidiah Morse et Timothy Dwight de diffuser sa théorie du complot avec la conviction de ceux qui possèdent « l’autorité ». Morse joua un rôle particulièrement important en tant que médiateur entre ces réseaux et le public américain. Lui qui s’abreuvait aux critiques littéraires, aux correspondances d’universitaires et aux publications d’intellectuels avait de bonnes raisons d’accepter le récit de Barruel. En fait, la preuve que Morse et ses alliés faisaient valoir était sans doute plus solide que celle dont disposaient leurs détracteurs. Dans cette optique, la peur des Illuminati ne relevait pas de la panique irrationnelle; elle constituait en réalité une réaction raisonnable, si l’on tient compte du savoir accessible aux Américains de la fin des années 1790. En réexaminant cet épisode sous l’angle de l’histoire de l’imprimé, des réseaux transatlantiques et des processus de production du savoir en vigueur au début de l’ère moderne, les chercheurs pourront mieux appréhender les contours et les limites des épistémologies de l’époque, ainsi que la nature des premières théories du complot.
Mots-clés :
- Complot,
- intellectuels,
- réseaux,
- culture de l’imprimé,
- Révolution française
Appendices
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