After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

1. Identify some of the basic elements of American political culture and their origin.

2. Describe the institutions that make up the basic American government structure at the national level and how they function.

3. Discuss how closely the practice of politics in America squares with some of democracy’s agreed upon values.

4. Define the Bill of Rights and how it shapes the way Americans think about politics.

5. Analyze the role that nongovernmental institutions—media, interest groups, political parties—play in American politics.