Conservatism in the United States

Wikipedia

This is a long definition, and I will not copy it here. I will only copy the last paragraph:

Historians such as Patrick Allitt and political theorists such as Russell Kirk argue that the conservative tradition has played a major role in American politics and culture since 1776. However, they assert that an organized conservative movement with beliefs that differ from those of other American political parties has played a key role in politics only since the 1950s. The recent movement is based in the Republican Party; however, some Southern Democrats were also important figures early in the movement's history.