“In a very important sense, the American Revolution began in Maryland on this day”–i.e., May 25, 1774, exactly 236 years ago today. So says Hillsdale College prof Bradley J. Birzer in his new book American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll. He’s referring to a meeting in Annapolis in which colonists showed support for the Boston Tea Party. This was the first attempt “to transcend and supplant the existing provincial governmental structures and institutions” in what would become the United States, writes Birzer. Tea partiers who are also history buffs may want to check out Birzer’s biography of Carroll, who went on to become the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.