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Conservatism in North America is a political philosophy that varies in form, depending on the country and the region, but that has similar themes and goals. Academic study into the differences and similarities between conservatism in North American countries has been undertaken on numerous occasions.Reginald Bibby has asserted that the primary reason that conservatism has been so strong and enduring throughout North America is because of the propagation of religious values from generation to generation. This connection is strongest inmainstream Protestantism in the United States, and both Protestantism andRoman Catholicism in Canada.[1]
According toLouis Hartz, nations that developed from settler colonies were European "fragments" that froze the class structure and underlying ideology prevalent in the mother country at the time of their foundation. He considered Latin America and French Canada to be fragments of feudal Europe, and the United States and English Canada as liberal fragments.[2] HoweverGad Horowitz, writing that Hartz had acknowledged a Tory influence in English Canada, claimed a conservative tradition had developed there as well.[3] American conservatism is different from European conservatism, with its combination oftraditionalism andlibertarianism, and has its roots in American traditions andclassical liberalism of the 18th and 19th centuries,[4] although Canada also developed an American-style conservatism that competed with the olderTory conservatism.[5] A right-wing conservatism, or "Latin conservatism", developed in Latin America and Quebec. Today, conservative and conservative liberal parties in North America cooperate through theInternational Democrat Union.[6]
Conservatism in Canada is generally considered to be primarily represented by the modern-dayConservative Party of Canada infederal party politics, and by variouscentre-right andright-wing parties at the provincial level. The first party calling itself "Conservative" in what would become Canada was elected in theProvince of Canada election of 1854.
Far-right politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society.[7] Canadian conservative ideology is rooted in British "Tory-ism", rather thanAmerican liberalism.[8][9] Stemming from the resettlement ofUnited Empire Loyalist after theAmerican Revolutionary War withtraditionalist conservatism views alongsidepro-market liberalism ideals,[10][8] is the reason that unlike theconservatives in the United States, Canadian conservatives generally prefer theWestminster system of government.[11][8] TheUnited States of America is afederal republic with a presidential democracy, while Canada is a federalparliamentary democracy with aconstitutional monarchy.
Conservatism is a major political ideology in the United States. American conservatism is different from European conservatism, and it has its roots inAmerican Republicanism andclassical liberalism.[12] In contemporary American politics, it is usually associated with theRepublican Party. Characteristics of conservative principles includelimited government,respect for American traditions, support forJudeo-Christian values,[13]moral universalism,[14]individualism and defense against perceived threats posed bycommunism andsocialism. Economically, U.S. conservatives supportfiscal conservatism,economic liberalism,laissez fairecapitalism, and opposition to government intervention in economy. Inforeign policy, American conservatives usually advocate a strong national defense. They support the doctrine of "American exceptionalism", a belief that the U.S. is unique among nations and that its standing and actions do and should guide the course of world history.
Although there has always been a conservative tradition in America, the modern American conservative movement began during the 1950s.Russell Kirk popularized conservatism after publishingThe Conservative Mind (1953). Two years later, in 1955,William F. Buckley Jr. foundedNational Review, a conservative magazine that included traditionalists, such as Kirk, along withlibertarians andanti-communists. This bringing together of separate ideologies under a conservative umbrella was known asfusionism. The term was invented byFrank Meyer. Politically, the conservative movement in the U.S. has often been a coalition of various groups, which has sometimes contributed to its electoral success and other times been a source of internal conflict.
Modern conservatism saw its first national political success with the 1964 nomination ofBarry Goldwater, a U.S. Senator from Arizona and author ofThe Conscience of a Conservative (1960), as the Republican candidate for president. In 1980, the conservative movement was able to attract disaffected Southern Whites (who were formerly Democrats),neoconservatives (former Cold War liberal Democrats), and evangelical Christians, to nominate and elect the Republican candidateRonald Reagan, a conservative, as president. The 1980s and beyond is known as theReagan Era, a conservative decade. Today's conservatives regard Reagan as the iconic conservative hero. Subsequent electoral victories included gaining a Republican congressional majority in 1994 and the election ofGeorge W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.
The conservative movement has been advanced by influentialthink tanks such asThe Heritage Foundation,American Enterprise Institute,Hoover Institution,Hudson Institute andManhattan Institute for Policy Research. Major media outlets such asThe Wall Street Journal,New York Post andFox News are often described as conservative.
Since the 1970s, the two major American political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have become increasingly polarized, with the Democrats described as "liberal" and "left wing" and the Republicans as "conservative" and "right wing". Thealt-right has pushed theOverton window to the right,[15] making conservative positions seem more centrist.[16][17][18]
InMexico, political conservatism originally arose in reaction to theMexican War of Independence. Because of his prominence in the Mexican Conservative Party,Lucas Alamán has been called "the most organized intelligence behind Conservatism in Mexico."[19] Throughout thepresidency ofMiguel Alemán Valdés between 1946 and 1952, the politics of the country experienced a significant shift towards conservatism.[20]Gastón García Cantú has performed the most extensive study of Mexican conservatism to date.[21]
Before the 1930s,Central American countries generally haddichotomous politics divided alongconservative-liberal lines, but the effects of theGreat Depression in the area caused most of these opposing parties to merge in order to maintain authority.[22] Traditionally, political conservatism in the area has beenideologically linked with Protestantism, but this connection has been questioned in recent years.[23] One of the most prominent historical representatives of conservatism in Central America wasRafael Carrera, the firstPresident of Guatemala. Not only did he effectively suppress liberal reforms in his own country, but he contributed greatly to the unity and influence of conservatism in each of the countries throughout Central America.[24]
Belize is generally a conservative country as demonstrated by theirlaws which makeabortion andmale homosexuality illegal.[25] The primary conservative party in Belize sincethe country's first parliamentary election as an independent state in 1984 has been theUnited Democratic Party.[26] Nonetheless, the other major political party, thePeople's United Party, has a very similarpolitical ideology.Historically, both parties have tended to be more conservative while in power than when inopposition.[27]
Conservatism in Guatemala has always been closely linked withthe country's Roman Catholicclergy.[28] Between the declaration of Guatemala'sindependence in 1821 and theLiberal Revolution of 1871, the country's politics were dominated by conservatism.[29] In the mid-twentieth century,Francisco Javier Arana served as a unifying force for conservatives in Guatemala after his ownpresidency.[30]
WhenPanama was separated from Colombia in 1903, the newly independent country ofPanama was initially controlled by amilitary junta led byJosé Agustín Arango andManuel Amador Guerrero. Although the junta included a fewtoken liberal members, the administration was heavily conservative.[31] Politics in the country were strongly divided along conservative-liberal lines in the following years.[32] Conservatives were in power until a military coup in 1968.[33]
The main conservative political body in theCaribbean is theCaribbean Democrat Union (CDU) which was formed in 1986 byAnglo-Caribbean leaders to unify conservative political parties in the region.[34] The CDP is a suborganization of theInternational Democrat Union (IDU).[35] InBeyond a Boundary,C. L. R. James argues that the influence ofcricket andEnglish literature have been instrumental in strengthening conservativism in the Caribbean.[36]
In the early 20th century, the concept of conservatism was not well-defined inCuban politics.[37] In 1913,Mario García Menocal became the thirdPresident of Cuba and the first Cuban president representing theConservative Party of Cuba when theLiberal Party of Cuba split between supporters ofAlfredo Zayas y Alfonso and supporters ofJosé Miguel Gómez.[38] Still, the conservative-liberal distinction fails to address many of the major political issues inCuban governmental history.[39]
Although Cuba's government remains ideologicallycommunist,evangelical churches have allowed the growth of conservative ideas and groups within religious institutions. Many of these churches influence debates on civil liberties such asabortion andLGBT rights.[40][41][42]
A 2002 conference at theUniversity of Augsburg which was dedicated to this very topic.[43] There were two main concepts discussed at the conference. The first concept was the connection between the brand of conservatism arising in the 1980s and the 1990s andsocial democracy. The second concept was simply an exploration of the differences and similarities between conservatism in Canada and the United States. Somefeminist scholars have suggested that the prevalence of conservatism throughout North America has resulted in the continent's generalpost-feminist stance.[44]
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Conservatism Cuba.
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help) "The rise of conservatism in North America and Western Europe has been a severe challenge to the movement there and many argue that these countries are in a phase of post-feminism."
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