Inventing Burke: Edmund Burke and the Conservative Party, 1790-1918

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Sidney, Hannah Z.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Corey Robin

• European History
• History
• Other History
• Political Science
• British politics
• Burke
• Edmund
• Cecil
• Hugh
• Conservative Party
• modern conservatism
• political history

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/152

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-1151