Nearly half of Americans surveyed don't know what America 250 commemorates

Thanks to union slob school teachers and woke politicians.

Students don't learn what isn't taught.

A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead
patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge. 

According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of
more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents
said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's
founding principles remain relevant. 

However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th
anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence. 

Nearly half of Americans, two-thirds of Gen Z, don't know what America's
250th commemorates To the best of your knowledge, which of the following
best describes what America's 250th anniversary commemorates? All Ages
18-29
30-44
45-54
55-64
65+
18-29
The adoption of the Declaration of Independence
The pilgrims' landing at Plymouth Rock
The ratification of the U.S. Constitution
The victory in the Revolutionary War
The first U.S. presidential election
The founding of Jamestown
Not sure
39%4%8%7%11%1%30%

the main purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to limit government power,
and do not know why the colonies declared independence from Great
Britain. 

Furthermore, the report highlights deep anxieties about the future of
American liberty. 

The majority of those surveyed believe the country has strayed from its
founding principles, and more than half fear the U.S. could cease to be
a free country within the next 50 years, citing corruption and the abuse
of power as primary threats. The majority of both Republicans and
Democrats share these fears. 

The concerns are especially pronounced among Gen Z respondents, who
exhibited both the lowest levels of civic knowledge and the least
favorable views of the nation's founders. The majority of Gen Z failed
to cite the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as the source of
the 250th anniversary. 

"The lack of civic knowledge is a great disaster," said Coe Professor of
History and American Studies and Professor of Political Science Emeritus
at Stanford University Jack Rakove. "Any democratic system of government
to succeed requires having an informed electorate." 

The Pulitzer Prize-winning authority on the drafting of the Constitution
and the Declaration of Independence blamed the problem on the fragmented
media landscape and schools prioritizing STEM subjects over civics and
history. 

"Our educational system is highly decentralized. So the idea that you
could have one clean, neat, sweeping educational reform that will cope
with the problem is hard," Rakove said. "And of course, and we do live
in this disaggregated information environment where people pick the
sources they like. If you assume that a Democratic society depends upon
well-rounded deliberation of being exposed to the views of other people,
the information environment itself is not conducive to the underlying
foundation of Democratic debate." 

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/03/nx-s1-5881451/cato-institute-250th-july-4t
h-constitution-declaration-of-independence-poll