This thesis explores the circumstances by which Edmund Burke came to be regarded as the father of Anglo-conservatism. Conventional wisdom assumes Burke was hailed as a Conservative oracle from the moment Reflections on the Revolution in France appeared. In fact, nineteenth century Conservatives considered Burke a \"Whig\" who had erred on most critical issues: slavery, Crown prerogative, Ireland, empire.
In the twentieth century, however, the advent of universal suffrage and the demise of the Liberal party forced Conservatives to develop an identity which might compete with Labour's mass appeal. It also shifted the locus of Conservative ire from liberalism to socialism. Conservatives came to see themselves as protectors of the individual and their opponents as latter-day Jacobins obsessed with a reified State. A key figure is Hugh Cecil, whose Conservatism (1912) was among the first monographs to define Conservative identity in this way and to trace Conservatism's origins to Burke.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores the circumstances by which Edmund Burke came to be regarded as the father of Anglo-conservatism. Conventional wisdom assumes Burke was hailed as a Conservative oracle from the moment <em>Reflections on the Revolution in France</em> appeared. In fact, nineteenth century Conservatives considered Burke a "Whig" who had erred on most critical issues: slavery, Crown prerogative, Ireland, empire. </p> <p>In the twentieth century, however, the advent of universal suffrage and the demise of the Liberal party forced Conservatives to develop an identity which might compete with Labour's mass appeal. It also shifted the locus of Conservative ire from liberalism to socialism. Conservatives came to see themselves as protectors of the individual and their opponents as latter-day Jacobins obsessed with a reified State. A key figure is Hugh Cecil, whose <em>Conservatism</em> (1912) was among the first monographs to define Conservative identity in this way and to trace Conservatism's origins to Burke. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sidney, Hannah Z."],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Corey Robin"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:13Z","subjects":["European History","History","Other History","Political Science","British politics","Burke","Edmund","Cecil","Hugh","Conservative Party","modern conservatism","political history"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/152","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Corey Robin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sidney, Hannah Z."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-02-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["European History","History","Other History","Political Science","British politics","Burke","Edmund","Cecil","Hugh","Conservative Party","modern conservatism","political history"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/152"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the circumstances by which Edmund Burke came to be regarded as the father of Anglo-conservatism. Conventional wisdom assumes Burke was hailed as a Conservative oracle from the moment Reflections on the Revolution in France appeared. In fact, nineteenth century Conservatives considered Burke a \"Whig\" who had erred on most critical issues: slavery, Crown prerogative, Ireland, empire.
In the twentieth century, however, the advent of universal suffrage and the demise of the Liberal party forced Conservatives to develop an identity which might compete with Labour's mass appeal. It also shifted the locus of Conservative ire from liberalism to socialism. Conservatives came to see themselves as protectors of the individual and their opponents as latter-day Jacobins obsessed with a reified State. A key figure is Hugh Cecil, whose Conservatism (1912) was among the first monographs to define Conservative identity in this way and to trace Conservatism's origins to Burke.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Inventing Burke: Edmund Burke and the Conservative Party, 1790-1918"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Corey Robin"],"dc:creator":["Sidney, Hannah Z."],"dc:date.available":["2015-02-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores the circumstances by which Edmund Burke came to be regarded as the father of Anglo-conservatism. Conventional wisdom assumes Burke was hailed as a Conservative oracle from the moment Reflections on the Revolution in France appeared. In fact, nineteenth century Conservatives considered Burke a \"Whig\" who had erred on most critical issues: slavery, Crown prerogative, Ireland, empire.
In the twentieth century, however, the advent of universal suffrage and the demise of the Liberal party forced Conservatives to develop an identity which might compete with Labour's mass appeal. It also shifted the locus of Conservative ire from liberalism to socialism. Conservatives came to see themselves as protectors of the individual and their opponents as latter-day Jacobins obsessed with a reified State. A key figure is Hugh Cecil, whose Conservatism (1912) was among the first monographs to define Conservative identity in this way and to trace Conservatism's origins to Burke.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/152"],"dc:subject":["European History","History","Other History","Political Science","British politics","Burke","Edmund","Cecil","Hugh","Conservative Party","modern conservatism","political history"],"dc:title":["Inventing Burke: Edmund Burke and the Conservative Party, 1790-1918"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:13Z"}