A Cato Institute survey of 2,253 Americans, conducted with Morning Consult on June 25-26, found that 46% of respondents couldn’t identify what America’s 250th anniversary commemorates on July 4th, while 53% correctly linked it to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The knowledge gap was most pronounced among Gen Z, with 61% of respondents aged roughly 18 to 26 unable to identify the significance of the anniversary. Only 39% of that age group correctly connected the celebration to the Declaration of Independence.
The survey also revealed broader civic knowledge gaps: 57% of Americans didn’t know why the colonies declared independence from Britain, 58% couldn’t identify the main purpose of the Constitution, and 55% didn’t know the Supreme Court has final say in disputes with the president.
Why do people keep posting articles from these hacks?
Because Americans regularly confuse the Signing of the Declaration (Independence Day) with the Signing of the Constitution (September 17th, officially Constitution Day, but rarely celebrated as such), as they are both foundational documents held up in the jingoistic zeitgeist
This is the same tired “man on the street” interview that mostly gets people because they’re not prepared for the question, not because they’re uneducated or innately stupid. In the same way, ambushing someone on the street and demanding they tell you the answer to “12x16” will produce an unusually large number of wrong answers. That doesn’t signify “X% of people don’t know multiplication”. These PolySci Pop Quiz questions sift people for headline-making statistics to work the audience into an “Everyone is dumb but me” libertarian-brained lather.
CATO is run by professional liars. And the real failure of modern poly-sci education is not throwing up a red flag the moment you see their name associated with any kind of journalism.
Yes, yes, very, ummmm, libertarian of them…
Anyway, see also: the Lizardman Constant