The United States has only approached a democracy since 1965. Women could vote but people who were not white faced barriers to voting by Jim Crow laws. The Conservative party was founded on the premise of keeping the vote white. William F Buckly proposed that the Consevative party was not biased enough against minority voting.
While fascism is not conservatism it is important to know the reasons for American authoritarianism.
LBJ brought voting rights to law against steep odds. Its an amazing story. He could not have done it without a JFK. TRUMP COULD NOT BE PRESIDENT WITHOUT AN Obama.