New Study Finds “Epidemic of Historical, Political and Economic Ignorance in America”

by Gina L. Diorio

Americans’ lack of basic knowledge of their country’s history and political and economic structure is cause for concern – great concern. 

According to a new study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), most Americans – including college graduates – are “civically illiterate.” Of more than 2,500 randomly-selected Americans given a basic 33-question “civic literacy” test, more than 1,700 failed, with 49 percent being the average score. And what’s worse – elected officials fared even more miserably than the general public, garnering an average score of only 44 percent.

Lest one think the 33 questions were designed for constitutional scholars, consider the following from ISI’s press release on the study:

• 30 percent of elected officials do not know that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence; and 20 percent falsely believe that the Electoral College “was established to supervise the first presidential debates.”
• Almost 40 percent of all respondents falsely believe the president has the power to declare war.
• 40 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree do not know business profit equals revenue minus expenses.
• Only 54 percent with a bachelor’s degree correctly define free enterprise as a system in which individuals create, exchange and control goods and resources.
• 20.7 percent of Americans falsely believe that the Federal Reserve can increase or decrease government spending.

Furthermore, less than 50 percent of Americans can name our three branches of government, and only 21 percent can correctly identify the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” as part of the Gettysburg Address.

According to ISI’s Director of University Stewardship Dr. Richard Brake, “People may be listening to television experts talk about economic bailouts and the platforms of political candidates, but they apparently have little idea what our basic economic and political institutions are.”

Josiah Bunting, III, Chairman of ISI’s National Civic Literacy Board, adds:

There is an epidemic of economic, political, and historical ignorance in our country…. It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI’s civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned. How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don’t understand the American experience?

Recent history and current events have already answered Bunting’s question – “They cannot.”

Americans’ utter lack of knowledge of our country’s political heritage and institutions has already left its bitter mark on the actions and intents both of our government and of many citizen activists.

Reflect, for example, on the passage of the 17th Amendment – which shows a complete ignorance of our federal system of government.

Or take, for instance, the movement to abolish the Electoral College – which indicates a stark knowledge vacuum concerning the relationship our Founding Fathers intended both among states and between states and the federal government.

And consider, too, the ongoing crusade to indoctrinate Americans in the mythical constitutional “separation of church and state” – only 18.92 percent of the general public and 15.07 percent of elected officials could correctly identify the “wall of separation” phrase as appearing in the letters of Thomas Jefferson.

Such ignorance is not only an embarrassment to our nation but also a very clear and present danger to our country’s future.

American history is not simply a class to be endured, a catalog of facts to memorize, or a test to pass. It is the lifeblood of our heritage and the reason we are able to live today in political, economic, and religious freedom. Take away the heritage that undergirds our liberties, and our liberties will, without exception, collapse.

President Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” And make no mistake: his words are true.

The question we must ask ourselves today is: will we be those who preserve our heritage, or will history mark us as the generation that presided over its demise.

###

Gina L. Diorio is a full-time freelance writer. Please visit her website at www.LibertyWritingSolutions.com.