Nearly half of Americans don’t know what they’re celebrating on the Fourth of July, according to a shocking poll.
July 4 marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but 46 percent of Americans and 61 percent of Gen Zers couldn’t tell you that, the Cato Institute's national survey found.
Celebrations are taking place across the country this holiday weekend, but many Americans failed to correctly answer basic questions about the history of U.S. independence and the Constitution in the poll of 2,253 Americans aged 18 and older.
Only 61 percent correctly identified Great Britain as the nation from which the 13 colonies declared independence 250 years ago. Overall, 40 percent answered incorrectly, with 25 percent admitting they were not sure, and others guessing Europe (4 percent), Canada (3 percent), France (4 percent), Spain (2 percent), and Germany (2 percent).
More than half of Americans (57 percent) don’t know why the colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, and only 43 percent knew it was in protest of high taxes and a lack of representation in government. A further 58 percent could not identify the main purpose of the Constitution — to establish and limit the powers of the federal government.
Americans were also polled on their beliefs about the country moving away from the founding principles, with a majority (56 percent) worried about the notion that the U.S. may stop being a free country.
The greatest threats to America remaining a free republic were corruption (30 percent), too much power in the presidency (21 percent), politicians ignoring the Constitution (26 percent) and the rich having too much power (24 percent). Republicans and Democrats alike ranked corruption as the greatest threat to freedom.
But four in 10 Americans (38 percent) think it’s acceptable if a president they support stretched the Constitution to get what they want.
The report concluded that while a majority are proud to be American and remain attached to the country, it was paired with “striking uncertainty and concern.”
“Many lack basic knowledge about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution’s purpose, and the structure of constitutional government,” the report said, noting that the gap was wider among younger Americans “who are less likely to feel connected to the founding and more likely to be uncertain or skeptical” about the future.
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