The meaning of conservatism in America has little in common with the way the word is used in the rest of the world. Since the 1890s conservatism has been chiefly associated with the Republican Party, though in the era of segregation the Southern Democrats, known as the Dixicrats, were conservative.[9][10][11]

Core conservative issues in the 21st century include reduced government regulation of business, resistance to world government and to environmentalism, opposition to abortion and homosexuality, support for Christian education in the public schools[12], support for the right to bear arms, securing the U.S borders, and strict enforcement of the law[13]. Conservatives emphasize their patriotism and claim to share the beliefs of the Founding Fathers. Many say that America is a Christian nation.[14]

The modern conservative movement is often identified with the ideas in Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind, published in 1953.[15] In 1955, William F. Buckley, Jr. founded National Review, a conservative magazine that included traditionalists, such as Kirk, along with Roman Catholics, certain groups of libertarians, and anti-communists. In the 1970s moral issues—especially regarding abortion, sexuality and the family—became politically prominent and conservatives staked out distinctive positions, often with grassroots support from religious organizations such as the Moral Majority. This bringing together of separate ideologies under a conservative umbrella was known as "fusionism".

Modern conservatism became a major political force in 1964, when Barry Goldwater, a U.S. Senator from Arizona and author of The Conscience of a Conservative (1960), won the Republican presidential nomination after a fierce contest. He lost badly in the national election but permanently shifted the party to the right.