This chapter provides an overview of American politics and central themes of the text, namely, "Who Governs? To What Ends?" A broad perspective of the history of American politics is utilized in order to provide a basis for understanding the politics of the past and present, and also to allow you to consider what the future may hold. After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter, you should be able to do each of the following:

1. Explain why the size of the federal government and the scope of its power did not increase in many significant ways for almost 150 years.
   
   
2. Identify and explain specific historical events and developments that triggered the transformation of the federal government into a common candidate for solving an amazing variety of social and economic problems.
   
   
3. Explain the general consequences of the enlarged scope of government activity.
   
   
4. Understand how our political culture played a critical role in the foundation of our government and continues to shape political processes and our nation's development.