Melville's The Confidence-Man and the Origins of American Gaslighting

In 1857, Herman Melville published The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade, his final novel released during his lifetime. The term "confidence man" had only recently entered American English to describe a swindler. Eight years earlier, a petty thief in New York had earned the label by approaching strangers on the street, gaining their trust by pretending to be an old acquaintance, and convincing them to hand over their watch until the next day or lend him money, after which he would vanish. When the New York Herald reported his arrest, it struck a nerve in American society. Just days later, the same newspaper suggested that the real "confidence men" were the unscrupulous politicians and Wall Street businessmen. Even then, the con man was becoming established as a quintessentially American figure. The article, authored by Paolo Simonetti and Anita Romanello, was published on Saturday, 03/10/2026 at 03:10 on the website doppiozero.com. It connects this historical episode to the broader themes of trust and deception in American culture, particularly in the context of the 2026 U.S. elections. The piece explores how the figure of the confidence man has persisted in the American imagination, linking Melville's novel to contemporary concerns about gaslighting and political manipulation.