(OPINION) The U.S. Constitution was a collaborative effort undertaken by many of America’s Founding Fathers. James Madison played an especially crucial role in drafting the supreme law of the U.S., and as such is often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.”
One can’t help but wonder what President Madison would think about the results of a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. In short, the poll suggests a troubling number of Americans are incredibly uninformed when it comes to their own constitutional rights.
Even worse, the 2023 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, an annual poll released every Constitution Day (Sept. 17), also found that a significant number of Americans can’t even name the three branches of the government.
More specifically, while two-thirds of Americans (66%) can name the three branches, 10 percent can only list two, another seven percent can only name one, and an astounding 17 percent can’t name a single branch.
Meanwhile, when respondents were asked to name all of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, most Americans (77%) could only name one — the freedom of speech.
This latest version of the survey was put together during an especially turbulent year in America filled with high-profile events that brought the inner workings of the U.S. government into the news cycle on a daily basis.
These include trials for those charged in the Jan. 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol, multiple criminal indictments aimed at President Trump, and the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and the Biden Administration student loan forgiveness plan.
Several Supreme Court justices were also accused of unethical conduct and House Republicans have begun the process to open impeachment proceedings against President Biden.
“It is worrisome that one in six U.S. adults cannot name any of the branches of government and that only 1 in 20 can name all five freedoms protected by the First Amendment,” says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and director of the survey, in a media release.
“One is unlikely to cherish or work to protect freedoms one does not know one has and will have trouble holding elected and unelected leaders accountable if one does not understand the nature and prerogatives of each branch and the ways in which the power of each is kept in check.”
