Overview: Throughout history,citizens of this country have united to advance their shared ideas in order to effect change.

Objective: Students will identify the Tea Party as an evolving movement. Students will distinguish the difference between the Tea Party and the Republican and Democratic political parties.

Materials: Internet, projector or SmartBoard for viewing streaming video, dictionaries, and C-SPAN's Tea Party Movement Handout (.PDF)

Vocabulary: caucus, manifesto, activist, grassroots, straw poll

Introduction: Ask students to share what they know about the Democratic and the Republican political parties. Elicit information regarding what students may know or have heard about the Tea Party to activate thinking.

1. Define and discuss the five words found in question # 1 on the handout. These words will appear in video clips contained in the lesson.

2. In the following video, Professor Schneider describes the cycle of change between conservatives and liberals in our country’s history. View the clip below. Have students answer the questions in #2 on the handout and discuss their responses.

Professor and author Gregory Schneider speaks about conservative movements throughout the 20^th century and how the Tea Party may be part of this cycle.

 

3. The following videos contain several Tea Party activists’ perspectives. View the clips and have students answer the questions found in # 3 on the handout. Discuss their responses.

Tea Party Express Chair Amy Kremer talks about her reasons for joining the Tea Party and how she used social media to connect with other political activists.

Richmond Tea Party President Jamie Radtke discusses her involvement with the Tea Party, its relationship with elected officials, and the coordination of various Tea Party groups. She mentions the first Tea Party presidential straw poll that was conducted at The Virginia Tea Party Convention.

Former Majority Leader and author of Give Us Liberty:  A Tea Party Manifesto, Dick Armey discusses the principles and leadership of Tea Party activists.

 

First Tea Party Nation Convention: Keynote Speaker Sarah Palin briefly describes the Tea Party.

4. The following videos represent varying Republican perspectives of the Tea Party. View the clips and have students answer question #4 on the handout. Discuss their responses.

Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) discusses the origin of the Tea Party caucus in Congress, its members, and its mission at the Americans for Prosperity conference in Washington, DC.

 

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) comments on the Tea Party.

 

Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) talks about the grassroots movement of the Tea Party.

Chief Deputy Minority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gives his description of the Tea Party.

5. The following videos represent several Democratic views of the Tea Party. View the clips and have students answer question #5 on the handout. Discuss their responses.

 

Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) speaking about the Republican Party and the Tea Party.

 

6. The following videos reflect the media’s reporting on the Tea Party. View the clips and have students answer question #6 on the handout. Discuss their responses.

 

Author and Pollster Scott Rasmussen discusses the Tea Party movement and its relevance to historical movements.

 

Wall Street Journal Reporter Neil King comments on the Tea Party.

Professor and author Gregory Schneider comments on viable third parties in the United States.

 

7. Access the link below to read an article in Politico that describes Tea Party activists’ reactions to the formation of an official caucus in Congress. Have students answer question #7 on the handout and discuss their responses.

Tea Party vs. Tea Party Caucus article written by Kenneth Vogel.

Reflection:
Consider the information you gathered in this lesson regarding the Tea Party: its members, its supporters, its opponents, its objectives. In a well developed essay, answer the following questions. How would you describe the Tea Party? Do you believe that ordinary citizens can affect change in the policies of our government? Do you think the Tea Party will be viable after the upcoming elections? Explain your answers.

 

Extension Activities:
Students can conduct further research on the Tea Party, its members, and its agenda by searching C-SPAN’s video library. 

Students can track Tea Party candidates and monitor Senate, House, and Governors’ races across the nation through the following link: http://www.c-span.org/Politics.

 

111th Congress: Students can click on C-SPAN's 111th Congress link to acquire statistics on our current Congress and determine the possible effects the outcomes of the upcoming elections could have on its membership as well as its leadership.