Conservatives and the Common Market

In the North and Midwest (but not the South), the American conservative tradition has been “protectionist.” The reasons have been primarily economic. In practice Northern conservatism has been associated with business enterprise, and American business (though not finance) has on the whole been protectionist. In early days, business wanted protection for “infant industries” against the factories of Europe. Later, American business wanted special privileges within the expanding North American common market: that is, the continental United States.

Burnham