What is the Difference Between the United States of America and the united States of America? [149*7]

I PUT A QUESTION, which Hubpages probably wished was a forum, out a little while ago that asked - "Do Conservatives believe in a United States or a united States of America?"

One part of the comment thread was a series of back-and-forths between Mitch Allen and myself which I post here. I do so because I think it highlights, with a very bright line yet in very simple terms, the unique difference in perspective between conservatives in America and all other political stripes. It is a "bright line" because it boils down to a very fundamental assumption that lies at the core of our nation.

Except for a comment about Libertarianism at the bottom of the thread, I will leave it at that and let the fray begin, if it does.

Mitch Alan says

As a Constitution Conservative/Libertarian I believe in a small, Amendment X federal government...the word States is capitalized for a reason. Each State was meant to be a sovereign Republic with a Federation...A government closest to the people is the most efficient and responsible to it's people.

• .My Esoteric 11 hours ago

Yes, that was assumed in my question, but do conservatives think the 'u' in united States of the Declaration of Independence remain uncapitalized, which signifies one thing, or capitalized as in the Constitution, which means something different?

• Mitch Alan 10 hours ago

  My Eso,

  The capitalization of the S in States is far more important...the Constitution was set up to limit the federal government that the States were granting certain limit powers to. We were meant to be a federation of States united...

• My Esoteric 78 minutes ago

  Disagree. There was a reason the creators of the Constitution, who were extremely careful with nuance, chose to use a "U", rather than a "u"; for it changes the meaning entirely as your comments clearly point out. I get the feeling you want a 'u'.

• Mitch Alan 41 minutes ago

  Yes, one of the main reasons for the Constitution and the bill of rights was to limit the federal government in both size and scope... and as a supporter of the Constitution and one who sees the value and reasons behind that idea...I am a "u" and "S"

• My Esoteric 1 second ago

  OK, now we are getting somewhere. The group of founders who wrote the Constitution were a 'U' and 'S' set of founders. The ones who wrote the Articles of Confederation were a 'u' and 'S' set. The 'U' and 'S' group won the ratification battle.

• Mitch Alan 17 minutes ago

  Yes, the Constitution more clearly DEFINES the federal government then did the Articles of Confederation, but it is still a LIMITING document. The "U" was used to show a unitary, but n ot a totalitar

• My Esoteric 1 second ago

  Yes,that is one way of looking at it, I prefer a more common meaning of "all together".

Libertarians vs. Conservatives: From what I have learned, there is a distinct difference between the two. While they do share the same fiscal and governmental values, they do not share the same social values; in the main, there is quite a bit of difference there. Conservatism, as practiced by people like Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk is all about social order and laws based on tradition. One consequence of "social order" for a true conservative is a belief in a class or hierarchical structure of society, e.g., aristocrats vs commoner. This idea is antithetical to a Libertarian who believes in egocentrism and an extreme form of individual liberty.

Thomas Jefferson might be considered a Libertarian today but not a conservative, James Madison the same, at least until he became President, then the conservatives would have probably booted him out. Patrick Henry and George Mason were true conservatives.