Editing Conservatism (section)

==== United States ====
{{main|Conservatism in the United States}}
{{Conservatism US}}
The meaning of conservatism in the United States is different from the way the word is used elsewhere. Following the [[American Revolution]], Americans rejected the core ideals of European conservatism, which were based on landed nobility, hereditary monarchy, established churches, and powerful armies. However, the prominent American conservative historian [[Russell Kirk]] argued, in his influential work ''[[The Conservative Mind]]'' (1953), that conservatism had been brought to the United States and he interpreted the [[American Revolution]] as a "conservative revolution" against royal innovation.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kirk, Russell |title=The Conservative Mind |publisher=Regnery Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-89526-171-7 |pages=6, 63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mGBn2fOdp7gC}}</ref> The revolution was also supported by Anglo-Irish statesman [[Edmund Burke]], widely known as the father of conservatism, although Burke and a few [[Founding Fathers]], most notably [[John Adams]], were highly critical of the [[French Revolution]].{{sfn|Neill|2021|p=47}}

American conservatism is a broad system of political beliefs in the [[United States]], which is characterized by respect for American traditions, support for [[Judeo-Christian ethics|Judeo-Christian values]], economic liberalism, anti-communism, and a defense of [[Western culture]]. [[Liberty]] within the bounds of conformity to conservatism is a core value, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the [[free market]], limiting the size and scope of government, and opposing high taxes as well as government or labor union encroachment on the entrepreneur.

The 1830s [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] became divided between [[Southern Democrats]], who supported slavery, secession, and later segregation, and the [[Northern Democrats]], who tended to support the abolition of slavery, union, and equality.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.andrewjohnson.com/02KeyPoliticalIssues/RadicalismConservatism.htm |title=Reconstruction: Radicalism versus Conservatism |website=www.andrewjohnson.com}}</ref> Many Democrats were conservative in the sense that they wanted things to be like they were in the past, especially as far as race was concerned. They generally favored poorer farmers and urban workers, and were hostile to banks, industrialization, and high tariffs.<ref>Michael Kazin, ''What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party'' (2022) p xii.</ref>

The post-Civil War [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] had conservative factions, but was not uniformly conservative. The Southern Democrats united with pro-segregation Northern Republicans to form the [[Conservative Coalition]], which successfully put an end to Blacks being elected to national political office until 1967, when [[Edward Brooke]] was elected Senator from Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lyman |first=Brian |title=Fact check: Yes, historians do teach that first Black members of Congress were Republicans |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/18/fact-check-democrats-republicans-and-complicated-history-race/3208378001/ |access-date=May 1, 2022 |website=USA TODAY}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/article/How-Democrats-and-Republicans-switched-beliefs-9226115.php |title=How Democrats and Republicans switched beliefs [Opinion] |date=September 15, 2016 |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |last1=Haught |first1=By James A.}}</ref> [[Conservative Democrat]]s influenced US politics until 1994's [[Republican Revolution]], as the American South [[Southern strategy|shifted from solid Democrat to solid Republican]], while maintaining its conservative values.

In late 19th century, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] split into two factions; the more conservative Eastern business faction (led by [[Grover Cleveland]]) favored gold, while the South and West (led by [[William Jennings Bryan]]) wanted more silver in order to raise prices for their crops.  In 1892, Cleveland won the election on a conservative platform, which supported maintaining the gold standard, reducing tariffs, and taking a {{lang|fr|laissez-faire}} approach to government intervention. A severe nationwide [[Panic of 1893|depression]] ruined his plans.  Many of his supporters in 1896 supported the [[National Democratic Party (United States)|Gold Democrats]] when liberal [[William Jennings Bryan]] won the nomination and campaigned for [[bimetallism]], money backed by both gold and silver. The conservative wing nominated [[Alton B. Parker]] in 1904, but he got very few votes.<ref>See David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito. [http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=22&articleID=261 "Gold Democrats and the Decline of Classical Liberalism, 1896–1900"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326140336/http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=22&articleID=261 |date=March 26, 2014 }}.</ref><ref>John M. Pafford, ''The Forgotten Conservative: Rediscovering Grover Cleveland'' (Simon and Schuster, 2013).</ref>

The major conservative party in the United States today is the Republican Party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party). Modern American conservatives often consider [[Individualism|individual liberty]] as the fundamental trait of democracy, as long as it conforms to conservative values, [[small government]], [[deregulation]] of the government, and economic liberalism—which contrasts with [[Modern Liberalism in the United States|modern American liberals]], who generally place a greater value on [[social equality]] and [[social justice]].<ref>{{harv|Schneider|2009|pp=4–9, 136}}: "The label (conservatism) is in frequent use and has come to stand for a skepticism, at times an outright hostility, toward government social policies; a muscular foreign policy combined with a patriotic nationalism; a defense of traditional Christian religious values; and support for the free market economic system."</ref><ref>Sherwood Thompson, ''Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice'' p. 7: "Historically...social justice became associated with liberalism in which equality is the ideal.", Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1-4422-1604-4}}.</ref> Other major priorities within American conservatism include support for the nuclear family, law and order, the [[right to bear arms]], [[Christian values]], anti-communism, and a defense of "Western civilization from the challenges of modernist culture and totalitarian governments".{{sfn|Schneider|2009|p=xii}} Economic conservatives and libertarians favor small government, low taxes, limited regulation, and free enterprise. Some social conservatives see traditional social values threatened by secularism; so, they support [[school prayer]], and [[Opposition to the legalization of abortion|oppose abortion]].<ref name="Social">{{cite book |title=Texas Politics: Governing the Lone Star State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQFZCrbc9mIC&q=social%20conservatism%20abortion%20marriage&pg=PA87 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |access-date=January 19, 2012 |author=Cal Jillson |date=February 22, 2011 |quote=Social conservatives focus on moral or values issues, such as abortion, marriage, school prayer, and judicial appointments. |isbn=978-0-203-82941-7}}</ref> [[Neoconservatives]] want to expand American ideals throughout the world, and show a strong support for Israel.{{sfn|Frohnen|2006|pp=ix–xiv}} [[Paleoconservatives]] oppose [[multiculturalism]] and press for restrictions on immigration.<ref name="Paleoconservative2">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqbHa_AJrtMC&q=paleoconservative%20immigration&pg=PA318 |title=American credo: the place of ideas in US politics |author=Michael Foley |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2007 |quote=Against accusations of being pre-modern or even anti-modern in outlook, paleoconservatives press for restrictions on immigration, a rollback of multicultural programmes, the decentralization of the federal polity, the restoration of controls upon free trade, a greater emphasis upon economic nationalism and isolationism in the conduct of American foreign policy, and a generally ''revanchist'' outlook upon a social order in need of recovering old lines of distinction and in particular the assignment of roles in accordance with traditional categories of gender, ethnicity, and race. |access-date=January 18, 2012 |isbn=978-0-19-152833-0}}</ref>

The conservative movement of the 1950s attempted to bring together the divergent conservative strands, stressing the need for unity to prevent the spread of "godless communism", which Reagan later labeled an "[[Evil Empire speech|evil empire]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=Conservatism in America: Making Sense of the American Right |author-last=Gottfried |author-first=Paul E. |isbn=9781403974327 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TsaMEQoeFTIC |year=2007 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=9 |quote=Post-war conservatives set about creating their own synthesis of free-market capitalism, Christian morality, and the global struggle against Communism}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gottfried |first1=Paul Edward |title=Theologies and Moral Concern |date=January 1, 1995 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |page=12}}</ref> During the [[Reagan administration]], conservatives also supported the so-called [[Reagan Doctrine]], under which the US as part of a Cold War strategy provided military and other support to guerrilla insurgencies that were fighting governments identified as socialist or communist. The Reagan administration also adopted [[neoliberalism]] and [[Reaganomics]] (pejoratively referred to as [[trickle-down economics]]), resulting in the 1980s economic growth and trillion-dollar deficits. Other modern conservative positions include [[anti-environmentalism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacques |first1=Peter J. |last2=Dunlap |first2=Riley E. |last3=Freeman |first3=Mark |title=The organisation of denial: Conservative think tanks and environmental scepticism |journal=Environmental Politics |date=May 20, 2008 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=349–385 |doi=10.1080/09644010802055576 |bibcode=2008EnvPo..17..349J}}</ref> On average, American conservatives desire tougher foreign policies than liberals do.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gries |first1=Peter Hayes |title=The Politics of American Foreign Policy: How Ideology Divides Liberals and Conservatives over Foreign Affairs |date=2014 |publisher=Stanford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwzqAwAAQBAJ |isbn=9780804790925}}</ref>

The [[Tea Party movement]], founded in 2009, proved a large outlet for populist American conservative ideas. Their stated goals included rigorous adherence to the US constitution, lower taxes, and opposition to a growing role for the federal government in health care. Electorally, it was considered a key force in Republicans reclaiming control of the US House of Representatives in 2010.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism |author1-last=Williamson |author1-first=Vanessa |author2-last=Skocpol |author2-first=Theda |isbn=9780199832637 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OAtvU8ottcC |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=45–82}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katie-couric-interviews-tea-party-leaders/ |title=Katie Couric Interviews Tea Party Leaders |website=[[CBS News]] |date=January 25, 2010 |access-date=March 11, 2012 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004121627/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-12030-503544.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Long-term shifts in conservative thinking following the election of [[Donald Trump]] have been described as a "new fusionism" of traditional conservative ideology and right-wing populist themes.<ref name="Fusionism"/> These have resulted in shifts towards greater support for [[national conservatism]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The growing peril of national conservatism |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/02/15/the-growing-peril-of-national-conservatism |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=February 15, 2024 |access-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215195332/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/02/15/the-growing-peril-of-national-conservatism |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[protectionism]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The Republican Party no longer believes America is the essential nation |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/10/26/the-republican-party-no-longer-believes-america-is-the-essential-nation |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=October 26, 2023 |access-date=February 14, 2024 |archive-date=February 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213131705/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/10/26/the-republican-party-no-longer-believes-america-is-the-essential-nation |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[cultural conservatism]], a more [[Realism (international relations)|realist]] foreign policy, a repudiation of [[neoconservatism]], reduced efforts to roll back entitlement programs, and a disdain for traditional checks and balances.<ref name="Fusionism">{{cite journal |last1=Ashbee |first1=Edward |last2=Waddan |first2=Alex |title=US Republicans and the New Fusionism |journal=[[The Political Quarterly]] |date=December 13, 2023 |volume=95 |pages=148–156 |doi=10.1111/1467-923X.13341 |s2cid=266282896 |issn=1467-923X |language=en-us}}</ref>