It is important to remember that elections are but one piece--albeit an important one--of much larger processes of politics and governance. Moreover, in the United States they are increasingly implicated in the construction of identities and places. What goes on in the course of electoral politics (creating electoral systems and voting districts, campaigns and campaign finance, the mechanics of voting itself, media coverage, tabulating and analyzing results, etc.) increasingly "shapes" voters' conceptions of themselves and of the places they live, rather than just reflecting people's personal sentiments regarding parties, candidates, issues, or public policy. Studying, analyzing, and teaching about campaigns and elections therefore necessarily entails understanding something about the larger processes of which they are a part and the roles of these processes, historically, in shaping them. The converse is also true. Understanding broad changes in politics and culture in the United States necessarily entails understanding the roles of campaigns and elections in helping to shape these.