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Classical Liberalism VS Classical Conservatism Essay

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Are you Republican or Democrat? Maybe you are Conservative or Liberal? What do these terms mean and how did they begin? Classical Conservatism is defined as “a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order.”(Frohnen, Beer, and Nelson, 2006) Classical Liberalism is described as “a philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.” (Hudelson, 1999) These two ideas have shaped our philosophies and parties for centuries to come. These philosophies were made possible by many bright men of the time like Edmund Burke, John Adams, John Locke and Adam Smith. …show more content…

Edmund chose the Whigs because of their “freedom under law, balancing orders, and religious tolerance.” (Kirk, 1953)During this time he became one the leading men in the Whig party. (Clark, 2000) Edmund Burke was praised by both the conservatives and liberals of the nineteenth century. Yet, Burke is now known as the philosophical founder of conservatism. (Heywood, 2003)(Lock, 2006) One reason he is a founder of conservatism not liberalism because he favored reform of a society. (Kirk, 1953) Like Edmund Burke was the philosophical founder of conservatism, John Adams was the founder of conservatism in the United States of America. (Kirk, 1953) John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 and died on July 4, 1826 in Quincy, Massachusetts. John Adams was an American statesman, diplomat, political theorist, and the second president of the United States. John Adams was a federalist. The federalists were the first conservative movement in the United States. (Kirk, 1953) He was also one of the most influential founding Father of the United States. This was because he played a leading role in persuading the Continental Congress to declare independence from Britain.(Kirk, 1953)

Many people, including several representatives sought Adams advice, even on how to frame new governments, local, state, and national. With this John Adams wrote Thoughts on Government. (Adams, 1776, 1851) Thoughts on Government influenced many state constitutions we see

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