Poll: 52 Percent of Americans Clueless About Importance Of July 4th

WPIX ^ | 7/3/11

[markomalley]

NEW YORK (PIX11)— Now, here's something for the American History books!

A Marist Poll just out found 52 percent of our fellow Americans either had no clue about the significance of July 4 -- or thought Independence Day was on another date, altogether. Also, one in four drew a blank on the question about who we fought to win our independence!

The fact only 58 percent of respondents knew with certainty that we declared independence from Britain on July 4, 1776, feeds into what many have been saying for a while: that the shocking lack of basic knowledge about the United States and its origins symbolizes the failure of the education system.

Meanwhile, just 31 percent of adults 30 and under replied that 1776 is the year the United States broke away from Great Britain. But, 75 percent of Americans, 45 to 59, were most likely to know the right answer.

Marist surveyed more than a 1,000 people for the poll.

[varon]

They mentioned Obama being the first black president. I told them he is actually half white/half black. They were shocked

Shock them even more by using the proper term to describe Obama, which is, MULATTO!!! Let them marinate that thought for a while.

[VRWCTexan]

Actually July 2, 1776 is the day that the Continental Congress voted for independence (the document was dated July 4.)

[RipSawyer]

It seems that not only are we not teaching history but we are doing a poor job with basic arithmetic as well. I noticed long ago that in news stories involving figures where it is possible to check the math you can almost always find errors. It is quite common to see something where figures are quoted and then a percentage derived and the percentage is off by a huge factor. Such observations taught me long ago to take news stories with a huge lump of salt.

[Vaquero]

nixon was a crony captalist...who instituted wage and price freeze and not a true conservative.

Buckley Jr....is bleeding heart who had to give a brother a chance even though he was a MARXIST...

the problem with the privileged rich is they send their kids to MARXIST higher education institutions where they learn how to become disenfranchised from the system that generated American Wealth and Exceptionalism.

here is a good rule of thumb...dont send your kids away to school if the school is a bastion of Marxism....too many conservatives forget this.

[jpsb]

I have a couple of teenagers living at my house for a few months, dumb as a box of rocks and could not care less about learning anything. I've made a few attempts at conversation, long empty blank stare followed by a shrug then they walk away. lol, then I was their age I knew everything and would take on all comes. Well at least one of them is female so Uncle Sugar Daddy (Sam) will take care of her.

[bcsco]

It could well be that the actual percentages, based on the questions asked, are proper yet the writer did a poor job of interpreting/understanding them. That would be my guess, not knowing the layout and the questions responded to.

[RipSawyer]

I have posted on FR several times about my experiences with our local university graduates. Some freely admit to seeking a major in history because they thought it would be the easiest degree to acquire and they needed, “A degree of some kind”, to have a chance at a white collar job. These young people who MAJORED in history literally do not know the history I learned in grade school! They could not pass a test to ENTER a history course in a public high school in South Carolina in my era. Worst of all this university is well rated and is supposed to be worth the cost of tuition.

These history majors have never heard of things like the Battle of Hastings, the Magna Charta, the Feudal system etc.

They cannot tell you one thing about any of the wars America has fought, they cannot tell you anything about how the government functions. Young people have been cruelly used when they invest years of their lives and many thousands of borrowed dollars only to end up with an “instant unemployment” degree as Rush calls it and less actual education than a sophomore dropout from a public high school had sixty years ago. This is one of the most disgraceful things going on in America today.

[gogogodzilla]

In other words, 52% of Americans didn’t know that July 4th *IS* Independence Day.

But 58% knew that Independence Day was when we declared our independence from Britain.

[LibLieSlayer]

Yes... but it is forward into our future that we must march... learning from the past so that we do not repeat the same mistakes... our way of life demands it... depends on it... and it is up to us.

LLS

[jpsb]

I would suggest community schools run by retired professionals such as my self.

I am pretty sure I could teach grades 1-6 as well as most in the education business. Get 3 or 4 people like me to commit and you can have a small school of 50 or so kids for very little money. All you would need is an average sized building with enough property to let the kids run around on during recess and lunch. The little community school could be funded at $5,000/month for $100 per/month/student (adjust per month to meet your community needs).

It seems to me with all the boomers retiring and the huge need for better education in the USA that this problem could be solved at the local level without too much difficulty.

(Of course gov would have a fit so someone in the group would need to be an attorney.)

[bcsco]

OK, I’ll buy that, but the original is very poorly worded.

[jpsb]

When I was in grade school/Jr High we spent one year on ancient history another year on European History and a year on American history.

I have always loved history, such interesting stories and the acient Greeks (Romans too) Rocked!

[jpsb]

When I was in grade school/Jr High we spent one year on ancient history another year on European History and a year on American history.

I have always loved history, such interesting stories and the acient Greeks (Romans too) Rocked!

[pterional]

The public schools have failed by all standards except in creating a massive government dependent population. The entire population is distracted by “bread and circus”. The computer age has created very effective circus (cell phones,texting,online gaming,etc.). There is no time for the important lesions in life such as how men fought and earned their freedom.

[Graybeard58]

Were these “52%” US citizens/residents or Americans (Canadians,US, Mexican etc.). I wonder if they were asked about their legal status.

Lot's of people don't know that Mexicans and Canadians are Americans too, of those who do, some think that Mexico is South American. I've seen it on these threads.

[Graybeard58]

Thanks for the G.W. pics.

Did I ever tell you that I am the proud owner of George Washington’s hatchet?

It’s had 6 new heads and 12 new handles since he owned it though.

Hey, I bet if I posted that on Ebay, I’d get some sucker to buy it!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks markomalley.

The fact only 58 percent of respondents knew with certainty that we declared independence from Britain on July 4, 1776, feeds into what many have been saying for a while: that the shocking lack of basic knowledge about the United States and its origins symbolizes the failure of the education system.

[rmlew]

It sometimes seems that those of us that descended from the Old South... those whose ancestors fought and were defeated by the Union... have come to love that Union more than those that did not suffer the crushing defeat of the Blue Army.
Roughly 136 million Americans are descended from the pre-1800 white population and slaves. About 150 million are descended from later migrations. I am saddened that so many have not internalized this history as their own.

[rmlew]

One of the sad things in education is that our children are not taught the meaning of the “United States of America”.

On July 5, 1776, the continent awoke to the fact that there were 13 soverign states, each fully independent from the King of England and from each other. The citizens of each state could pick their Governor and run their own lives as they saw fit, not subject to any other authority.

Evidently some adults don't know history either. We declared our independence, but we were hardly independent. Parts of what is now New York City were occupied by the British and the Continental army was dug in around New York City (now Manhattan) and Brooklyn. We were not independent until November 25, 1783 when the British evacuated their last troops from New York. And even then they were playing games with the "Indians" in the Old Northwest until 1815.

[LibLieSlayer]

Well... the nea and the dims saw to it that their version of history was taught... which is why we have all of these polls about how most Americans have no idea of why we celebrate on July 4th. Maddening!

LLS