The Tea Party began on February 19, 2009 by Rick Santelli as a political protest to the financial crisis that not only threatened the United States, but the entire world. Conservatives were deeply concerned about the ongoing bailouts of failing banks and the millions of dollars going into government programs like the new national health bill. The Tea Party protests have continued, but have become increasingly unpopular as the Tea Party continues to move further to the right. The Tea Party isn't actually a party at all. First, the Tea Party does not have the same organization as a political party. It is a leaderless organization that leans on the Republican Party to gain political momentum as it did in 2009 at the start of Obama's presidency. Although the movement does not have the structure of a political party, it arose as a reaction from conservative activists who were firmly against the Obama administration's policies to address the 2009 economic crisis and the nationalization of the healthcare system in America. The movement's formation began similarly to the way some political parties arise through external mobilization. Conservatives who were not in a position of government power expressed their discontent with the Obama administration's policies. The Republican Party, with which the Tea Party movement is closely associated due to its party-like ideology, took the Tea Party's position and ran with it in an effort to gain more votes and political power. The Tea Party continued to have a strong influence in politics until its beliefs became too far to the right even for Republicans. Throughout American history, party systems have changed and cor...... middle of paper ......ives. The liberal Occupy Wallstreet movement is opposed to the Tea Party movement in everything except its structure. To conclude, the Tea Party is one of many populist movements that have confronted America throughout history. tea-party over http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tea_party_movement/index.html http://www.tpnn.com/2014/04/30/george-will-tea -party-an-enormous-benefit-to-both-the-gop-and-the-country/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-18/republican-civil-war-erupts- business -groups-v-tea-party.html http://www.e-ir.info/2013/11/28/assessing-the-impact-of-the-tea-party-on-the-republican-party / http://onthecommons.org/tea-party-vs-occupy-wall-street http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/15/gop-vs-tea-party-issues-dividing- lati/