In Defense of Liberty

A fascinating story of the Boston Tea Party and its legacy.... James Van Ness is a respected scholar of the American Revolutionary era and an insightful observer of the current national political scene.' Dave Palmer Lt. Gen. (Ret.), US Army Author of George Washington and Benedict Arnold In the spring of 2009, protest groups appeared in various parts of the country. Though local and independent, they chose the same two words as part of their organizations' names: Tea Party. Liberal pundits almost immediately attached members of these new organizations. A favorite criticism was that these twenty-first-century protesters were ignorant of American history: there was, the pundits said, no relationship between the issues motivating the 1773 Boston Tea Party participants and issues motivating the 2009 participants. No connection between local groups forming in 1773 and those loosely connected groups from 2009? Really? To truly evaluate the modern Tea Party's stances and claims, one needs a thorough understanding of the origins, nature, and legacy of the first Tea Party. In Defense of Liberty provides just such an understanding. Written with wit and wisdom, James Van Ness's exploration of the revolutionary era should be required reading for anyone claiming a connection to the incident in Boston in 1773, and for anyone who hopes to understand the present state of politics in America.