// The political philosphies of conservatisim and liberalism have evolved throughout the years to be quite different from their early 19th century counterparts.
A conservative of the 1800's believed in gradual change in society, continuity of tradition, and established authority such as the church and monarchy.
In contrast, liberalism was influenced heavily by the ideals of the Enlightenment. An early liberal was a strong advocate of change, individual liberty, public education,
and constitutional government.
Conservatives viewed society as a living organism that evolved slowly. Any radical changes would only lead to violence. The period of the French Revolution known
as "The Terror" was accurately predicted by Edmund Burke; a devout conservative. He warned the people of France by saying, " It is a general popular
error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare." Mr.Burke knew that "individual liberty" envisioned by radical thinkers invited greed,
lawlessness;trouble. This could be why he said, "Liberty without wisdom and without virtue is folly, vice, and madness without tuition or restraint."
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Tradition was valuable to conservatives and not easily passed over. To do so was to show all previous generations of direspect. It was clearly tradition that shaped society and conservatives apparently
didn't see the need to make any adjustments.
Any mention of separation of church and state would most likely have been blasphemous to someone like Edmund Burke due to their belief in the "Divine
Right of Kings." God's choosing of the Monarch placed Him, God, square in the middle of government and indicated that the two were inseparable.
The conservative might not have agreed fully with the leadership they were under but they believed that it was better to suffer evils
"while they were sufferable" than to invite the chaos of revolution.
On to liberalism. A 19th century liberal welcomed the...