Photo: Branches US gov; public domain
**Previously recorded by Phyllis Schlafly // February 2009 **
Can you name the three branches of American government (legislative, executive, and judicial)? Only one-half of Americans know this very basic fact about the U.S. Constitution. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which has conducted in-depth studies of what American college students know, and don’t know, about civics, has now gone after adults and reports an equally depressing result. Adults, too, lack the civic knowledge they need to be informed citizens and voters.
A very basic test on American history, government, and economics was administered to 2,500 Americans aged 25 and older. The multiple-choice test asked citizens to identify terms and names that everybody ought to know, such as the “New Deal,” the “Electoral College,” “Sputnik,” “‘I Have a Dream,’ “and “progressive tax.” The 2,500 adults scored an average grade of 49%; that means their score was a pitiful F. Those who had received a college bachelor’s degree averaged 57% on the test, compared to 44% for those with only a high school diploma. Worse still, 164 adults who took this test had held elected office, and their average score was 44%.
Only 27% of respondents knew that the First Amendment does not require separation of church and state, but only prohibits the government from establishing an official religion. Almost 40% said they thought the president had the power to declare war. Only 50% knew that Congress shares authority with the president over U.S. foreign policy; almost one in four stated that Congress shares foreign policy authority with the United Nations.
Without knowledge of our country’s history, key documents, and institutions, you really don’t have a frame of reference to judge today’s politics and policies. We have a new federal law that requires public schools to teach about the U.S. Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. But it looks like American adults need those lessons, too.
This post originally appeared at https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/constitution/adults-dont-know-much-about-civics/
