I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least;" and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, "That government is best which governs not at all;" and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. --Henry Thoreau (1817-1862) "Civil Disobedience"
To hear some conservative elitists tell it you would think that to be considered a true conservative you need a special handshake, secret decoder ring, and a notarized certificate stating your conservative bona fides in triplicate. The truth is much simpler.
The traditional political spectrum runs from Big Government on the left (liberal) to limited or no government on the right (conservative). If you favor limited or no government then you are a political conservative, period. For example, today we would call Henry Thoreau a political conservative.