Study: Americans shockingly ignorant when it comes to U.S. History
June 3, 11:23
Ana Kasparian
http://www.gallup.com/poll/3742/New-Poll-Gauges-Americans-General-Knowledge-Levels.aspx
The
American Revolution Center has sponsored a survey that reveals enormous gaps in the knowledge Americans have in civics and Revolutionary-era history. The study consisted of 1001 American adults who were given a multiple choice exam on U.S history. Prior to the exam, 89 percent of the respondents expressed confidence that they would pass. However, only 6 percent went on to pass the test.
What were some of the questions that most respondents failed to answer correctly?
More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments in the Constitution.
More than a third did not know which century the American Revolution took place. In fact, half of the participants in the study believed that either the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation or the War of 1812 occurred
before the American Revolution. In reality, the American Revolution took place in the last half of the 18th century.
A third of the respondents believed that the Bill of Rights
does not guarantee a right to a trial by jury. On the other hand, 40 percent thought that it did secure the right to vote. The respondents must have forgotten about the fact that most women in the U.S. did not have the right to vote until the 19th amendment was ratified under Woodrow Wilson in 1920, which was 129 years
AFTER the Bill of Rights came into effect.
More than 50 percent of participants in the study believed that the U.S. system of government is a direct democracy rather than a republic.
As if the findings of this study weren't depressing enough,
another survey released by
findlaw.com asked 1000 respondents to name the current justices on the Supreme Court. The study found that two-thirds can't name a single current justice. That's right...not one. Only one percent of the respondents were able to name all nine justices.
These studies already prove that most Americans know very little about the identity of the U.S. While one would think that they don't care about U.S. history, 90 percent of Americans think that knowledge of the American Revolution and its principles is very important.
It is important.
Our citizens need to know our country's identity. If future generations are unaware of the blood and sweat it took to make America the country that it is today, why would they feel the need to defend or preserve it? How can one be proud of his or her country without knowing its struggle?
It's funny how we make immigrants take exams on U.S. history to gain citizenship when our own system of education is lacking in that very subject.
