The Rise of Conservatism in the West

Conservatism is a broad term and has been loosely used to describe entire brackets of American life, politics, economics and religion. Much has been scribed by revisionists, socialists and Marxists whom tend to dominate the historiography. One glaring problem arises, which is the post-modernist bias and agenda when analyzing, usually dismissing or attacking this system of conservatism. This study will be nothing of the sort and will in fact be examining the history and historiography of conservatism through a factual and admittedly, conservative perspective. This is necessary for many reasons, none of which are more vital than correcting the academic record as to the foundations, perseverance and true identity of conservatism. The contemporary historical academic consensus is dominated by Marxist intellectuals, who have done their utmost to exclude conservative thought from higher education. This is not diversity of thought or a liberal education, but has indeed, over time created a system of indoctrination. To give American students an honest academic experience, to be confident in their roots and to be able to compete intellectually across the globe, Marxism in the historical record must step aside and allow pragmatism, classically liberal and conservative intellects to converse, publish and debate and let the individual learner think for themselves. This is the ultimate goal of this paper. To accomplish this goal, conservatism will, to some degree, be redefined to correct contemporary inaccuracies in terminology. In doing so, the rise of conservatism politically, economically as well as the fight over resources and regulation, can only be understood by looking to the Western United States, especially California, and must be scrutinized from the mid-nineteenth century through the twentieth century. It is this writer's contention that after the Civil War, conservatism was revamped and reinvented and does not always fall along the Republican and Democratic party lines, though most conservatism has normally fallen to the Republicans, with some anomalies. These incongruities can almost always be seen through the fight in America between the ideologies of progressive Marxism and conservatism. The focus of rhetoric, historical analysis and philosophical lamenting will, in this study, be along this premise and hopefully help to add to the historiography and above all, help to academically define and refine the history of American conservatism and its rise in the West, that inevitably spread across the country. According the father of the American English language, Noah Webster, the term conservative is defined as "preservative; having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste or injury." This definition has not changed much in two hundred years. Lee Edwards, a prominent historian of American conservatism defined the term in 2018, "Conservatism stands on the solid rock of the American Founding and Western civilization. Its overriding principle is 'ordered liberty, ' which...conservatives everywhere are determined to preserve and protect for this generation and generations to come."Upon this definition, conservatism is to be defined as a political, economic and spiritual conglomerate that seeks to preserve democratic republicanism, strict constitutional constructionism, moral free-market capitalism, Judeo-Christian morals and ethics and prevent these from loss, waste or injury. Conservatism is not fear of the future, fear of change or progress, it is rather the power to preserve those elements of the American political, economic and cultural landscape that are fundamental, necessary and have shown proven success. Edmund Burke puts it beautifully, stating that, "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation."