After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify some of the basic elements of American political culture and their origin.
   
• Describe the institutions that make up the basic American government structure at the national level and how they function.
   
• Discuss how closely the practice of politics in America squares with some of democracy’s agreed upon values.
   
• Define the Bill of Rights and how it shapes the way Americans think about politics.
   
• Analyze the role that nongovernmental institutions—media, interest groups, political parties—play in American politics.