Just as the cafeteria plan on your paycheck has nothing to do with food, the new TEA Party Movement has nothing to do with tea. Many rumors, myths, and innuendos surround the Movement. In To Secure the Blessings of Liberty, we have endeavored to dispel these and put to paper a concise history of the original Tea Party and current motivations for the new TEA Party. Our directed audiences are busy people, that are economically strapped, and the 18-26 set, who need to be better informed of our national history. Since the Movement was instrumental in the 2010 elections and promises to be a force in the 2012 elections, it is time that an average citizen understands the Movement's intentions as well as terms that affect their life on a daily basis, such as liberty, freedom, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America.

This concise, accessible text provides students with a history of American constitutional development in the context of political, economic, and social change. Constitutional historian Michael Benedict stresses the role that the American people have played over time in defining the powers of government and the rights of individuals and minorities. He covers important trends and events in U.S. constitutional history, encompassing key Supreme Court and lower-court cases. The volume begins by discussing the English and colonial origins of American constitutionalism. Following an analysis of the American Revolution's meaning to constitutional history, the text traces the Constitution's evolution from the Early Republic to the present day. This third edition is updated to include the election of 2000, the Tea Party and the rise of popular constitutionalism, and the rise of judicial supremacy as seen in cases such as Citizens United, the Affordable Care Act, and gay marriage.

Describes the proceedings of the 1787 Constitutional Convention that produced the Constitution of the United States.

I have two basic goals in writing this book. I want to convince you of two things: 1. It is possible for you to understand the Constitution for yourself; You don¿t need ¿experts¿ to tell you what it says. 2. It is vitally important that you do so, because the document cannot serve its purpose if you don¿t. If I can succeed in those two goals, then more important long-term goals will naturally follow. If you understand its importance and believe you can understand it, you will read it. If large numbers of Americans read the document for themselves, they will not only know if their government exceeds its limits, they will ¿know that they know.¿ This is not possible without a more universal understanding of the document, and it will naturally flow from a more universal American understanding of it.