This study uses discourse analysis to examine the role of storylines in an agency’s exercise of bureaucratic autonomy wherein agencies are able to pursue their policy goals independent, and sometimes in defiance, of political superiors. Most theories of bureaucratic autonomy typically fall into two categories: those based on task-specificity and those based on the agency’s ability to build a reputation for effectiveness. The author contends that examining the storylines surrounding an agency’s creation and purpose provides for a richer application and integration of existing theories. This study focuses on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as an exploratory case study and chronicles the storylines associated with its increasing autonomy from 1965 to 1980 and the subsequent challenges to that autonomy in the culture wars of the 1990s. It suggests that storylines associated with the role of the arts in defining and maintaining American identity in a Cold War context were powerful tools for building autonomy at the NEA.