Henry Salvatori devoted his life to strengthening the foundations of American liberty that each generation of citizens must renew and fortify and which, to Ronald Reagan and millions of Americans, make this nation a “shining City on a Hill.”

Through the generosity of Mr. Salvatori, an endowment was created at The Heritage Foundation to promote our nation’s common dedication to the principles of the American Founding and encourage an enlightened patriotism in the United States. The cornerstone of this endowment is an annual prize of $25,000, to be given to an American citizen who upholds these principles, embodies the virtues of character and mind that animated America’s Founders, and exemplifies the spirit of independent and entrepreneurial citizenship in the United States.

Previous recipients of the Prize have included author David McCullough (2009), Princeton University professor Robert P. George (2008), and the founders of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (2007).

This year, because of the significance of the Tea Party movement—bringing America’s first principles to the fore of public debate, motivating millions of their fellow Americans to get involved in the effort to revive those principles, and reinvigorating the larger movement in the United States to reorient American politics toward those principles—the 2010 Henry Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship has been awarded to the Tea Party movement, and honors all those American citizens nationwide who are newly committed to the renewal of American liberty.

Appropriate for a spontaneous, nationwide movement, the Prize does not recognize any one individual or group. Instead, the award will be used to deepen a commitment to and advocacy of America’s first principles through the popular distribution of pocket Constitutions and educational materials, and by providing the First Principles Collection of monographs and books to Tea Party leaders like you throughout the United States.

More than ever, we must rediscover for ourselves and reteach our fellow citizens the principles of liberty and constitutional government so that we can get our nation back on track. We at The Heritage Foundation are honored to be a part of this effort, having launched a nationwide First Principles Initiative to reorient American politics to our founding principles. We look forward to working with you in this, the common cause of our beloved country.