American Conservatism

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American Conservatism

Beginning with Nixon and continuing with Reagan after the radical changes of American culture in the sixties and seventies, Americans would begin to shift towards more conservative ideas unsure of the rapid radical change. In the 1994 mid term elections, the American people would elect a congress of mostly conservatives for the first time in nearly 50 years. At the core of this success would be the Contract with America. A set of promises and goals devised by conservative congressional representative Newt Gingrich. In 2000 the Republicans (modern conservative party) would retain the Congress and capture the White House. Conservatism has been a leading political ideology since the inception of the United States to recent Presidential and Congressional elections. Over the last 230 years, conservative ideas in America would evolve to become a distinct brand of conservatism.

The first conservative party in the newly formed United States of America was the Federalist. The Federalist were made up of several of the founding fathers including John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. John Adams a "Massachusetts lawyer spent the greater part of his life declaring, with perfect indifference to popularity, that freedom can be achieved and retained by sober men who take humanity as it is, not as humanity should be" is often cited as the founder of conservatism in an America (Kirk 71). They favored a strong central government that would protect the rights of property owners. They also favored little radical change after the Revolutionary War and retained a sense of social class apparent in the British Government. These parties tended to be supported by the businessmen of the time and those residing in smaller states.

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...ervative tenets. This is a draw back of the two party system in which compromise must be made in order to form a viable political party. In that case, one may say the Republicans have been successful, yet they have only been so at the cost of their conservative ideology. Although it is also viable to say that since the Republican Party is the only major outlet for conservatism, conservatism has been relatively successful. The Republican Party will continue to evolve but will likely be the major source of conservatism in America for years to come. Hence as the Republican Party evolves American Conservatism will evolve.

Works Cited

Hauss, Charles. Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges.

Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.

Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot. Washington, D.C: Regnery

Publishing Inc, 2001.

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