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Is the President of the United States an American? Or a Kenyan, a Muslim, the Anti-Christ? Or is he a Manchurian Candidate programmed at some future time to betray his country? These are serious charges vehemently leveled by the latter-day Paul Reveres cocooned in an echo chamber of chat rooms, talk radio, and the Internet.

Recently, their fears have escaped the fringe, with mainstream personalities like CNN's Lou Dobbs and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump latching on to the "birther" movement's claims that Barak Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. Opinion polls reveal public fears: 25 percent of Americans believe that Obama was born outside the United States with 58 percent of Republicans convinced that Obama is not a citizen or are unsure.

The noise is so loud that President Obama went to the White House briefing room to produce his Certificate of Live Birth and prove his citizenship and loyalty to the nation. Obama's declaration will not be the last word.

Conspiracy theorists know that the devil is in the details and will not release their grip on a fear that has brought the media spotlight and potential political and financial capital. They will scour the document for clues of deceit and begin the hunt for witnesses. Look for "lost" Kenyan birth certificates to surface soon.

But this story is more than a treasure hunt for the "holy" document. It has wider implications. It concerns power. It relates to race. Since emancipation, African-Americans have struggled for full citizenship and have yet to reach the end.

How ironic that the nation's president and most powerful black leader must literally prove his citizenship, his worth. The tea party slogan "take back the country" is sounded, at least in part, in racial tones.

The birth certificate furor is also not an isolated event. Fear of conspiracies is an American tradition. Since our ancestors arrived in the New World in the 17th century, Americans have entertained visions of plots, conspiracies, subversions and secret alliances to destroy their communities and nation.

Here is the general scenario: Hidden groups, intelligent, diabolical and cunning, move and shape American history. Financial catastrophes, assassinations, terrorism and deceit are their means. Wealth and power are their ends. Conspiracy theorists give no credence to chance, bureaucratic process or miscalculation. For the conspiracy-minded, everything can be explained; all the dots can be connected.

How easy it is, then, to understand the stakes in the Obama "conspiracy." With unlimited resources and an intense focus on power, the hidden puppet masters plotted the rise of Barack Obama.

The "fake" birth certificate was only their first ploy. Grooming him for the presidency, they arranged a proper education, bankrolled his political career and removed all obstacles in the quest for the presidency.

Once in the Oval Office, he would be positioned to deliver America to socialism, globalism and multiculturalism. America was destined to be a province in the New World Order run by the mysterious Insiders.

The birth certificate, then, takes on great weight and is a battleground to be hotly contested. If proven a forgery, the plot is exposed and America saved. If that investigation fails, countersubversives remain undaunted and will continue to track the trail of conspiracy for clues of the plot.

If not unique to our time, conspiracy theories have become easier to circulate and access, and are more resistant to change. The Internet is particularly significant. It has created a global network of linked conspiracy thinkers. Click on a website and enter a universe of conspiracy theories with links to confirming sites and related plots.

In this parallel world, conspiracy replaces history and orders life. On blogs and in chat rooms the initiated self-segregate to seek not information, but confirmation. Researchers find that men and women who are reinforced and find agreement with like-minded individuals, become more determined in their beliefs. They may even shift to more extreme positions when validated.

Conspiracy thinking is not harmless. Conspiracy theories are dangerous because they demonize public officials and erode faith in national institutions. Negotiation and compromise become impossible when charges of betrayal and treason pepper debate.

The loss of trust in America's leaders and institutions has gone beyond healthy skepticism. Allegiance has become suspect and governance more difficult.

Mr. Obama's skirmish over his birth certificate is only the first in a war with high stakes, the control of America's future.

Considering racial attitudes and America's fear of enemies within, it could prove a long struggle.

Robert A. Goldberg is a professor of history at the University of Utah.