Taxed Enough AlreadyBringing Politics to Its State at the Beginning of the Republic

River Sween

Senior Division

Individual Websites

Process Paper

The Tea Party must be chosen as a history day topic because it reflects the ideals of the

beginning of the Republic and brings up the question, “are such ideals irrelevant in a developed

America?” From exposure to various bipartisan news sources, I have heard about the “Tea Party”

on many different sources with different positions. I was thus introduced to the Tea Party

quickly. Alas, I could find neither nonpartisan nor analytical sources about the Tea Party—

neither could I escape (personally) the Tea Party (even in a primarily liberal environment) for its

ideals now influence my uncles and grandparents. I then assumed the Tea Party topic as

important to the future and to comprehension of the history of populist movements and third

parties.

Already possessing a “mainstream” (media-induced) knowledge of the Tea Party, I could

begin with more analytical (and descriptive) research on the Tea Party. I began research by

finding two books on the Tea Party (The Tea Party: A Brief History and The Tea Party and the

Remaking of Republican Conservatism); I then continued research with periodicals, news, and

Tea Party websites (Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots). For the liberal opinion, however,

I obtained an interview with a senior Democratic official (____________________). Upon

finishing research for the Tea Party, I used previous knowledge from AP U.S. History and the

textbook (The American Pageant) for research on connections to the Populist Party and the early

populist movements and third parties of the Republic.

Information on the Tea Party primarily exists in video clips, photographs, and interactive

data. Therefore, a website is the most effective way to present all data on the Tea Party without

limiting myself to photographs, and analytical diorama. Using a website, I can present 112th

Congress bills, Supreme Court decisions and data of the 2010 election in a consolidated format,

allowing me to maximize visual evidence and my analyses. I thus created the website by using

ideas from previously successful websites (national and state) and expanded it with my own

ideas. I used both satire (uniform use of Puck satires for headers) and facts (e.g., H.R. 3) to

juxtapose, thus emphasizing the seriousness of the Tea Party’s influences. Alas, symmetry is

used for simple structure.

Rises of conservation reactions to the 2009 revolts changed the direction of conservatism,

and strengthened Conservative and Liberal parties. Therefore, the Tea Party altered American

politics—beginning with Ronald Reagan. The Tea Party inspired a solemn state of outlook on

the United States; it shifts the Republican Party farther right and the Democratic Party farther

left. Tea Party congressmen pass legislation that resembles such bills passed during the

beginning of the Republic. A wave of revolt along with reversion has dominated America since

2009. Thus, the Tea Party is not a new change in American politics, but a reversal to the “grass

roots” ideology at the beginning of the Republic, which is what the Tea Party proclaims to

restore (“true conservatism” against “politics-as-usual”).

(496 words)