Recent Survey Reveals Gaps in Americans' Knowledge of Government and Constitutional Rights

On Thursday, The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center released the results of its annual Constitution Day Civics Survey. This nationwide survey questioned adults across the United States on their knowledge of the Constitution and their views on Supreme Court reforms.

The Findings

The 2024 responses showed that only 65% of the national population can name all three branches of government, 13% can name two branches, 8% can name one, and 15% cannot name any branches of government. 

The survey also polled the knowledge of the First Amendment. Out of the 1,590 people surveyed, 74% said freedom of speech, 39% said freedom of religion, 29% said freedom of the press, 27% said the right to assembly, and 11% said the right to petition the government.

Among a variety of other questions, Annenberg also polled on Supreme Court reform for justices. 82% supported prohibiting justices from participating in cases if they have a personal or financial interest, 77% supported a formal ethics code for Supreme Court Justices, 69% supported a required retirement of Supreme Court justices at a certain age, and 68% supported reversing Article III of the Constitution to give time limits to Supreme Court Justices' appointments.

What This Means

Adults across the United States have a limited understanding of government. It is an issue that less than ⅔ of adults can name all three, very simple branches of government. People should be able to know how our government functions and works, because how would they vote for candidates for public offices? People must know how the government functions, what all three branches of government are, and how they all work together to produce a productive and functioning government.

Citizens also should know their rights. It is upsetting that people do not know what their rights are as American citizens. People should know what they can and cannot do and they should know their rights should they ever get in trouble with the law and if they ever need to use it to help someone. It is upsetting people do not know what their rights are and what they are allowed to do/have in the United States.

This survey also showed an outroar of support for Supreme Court justice reform. With the cases of justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, there have been rising calls to prohibit justices from participating in cases they have a special interest in, and this survey perfectly reflected that. We also saw that most Americans think Supreme Court justices should have term and age limits and that the lifetime appointments justices get are not working for America, and Americans think change needs to happen.

Read the full 2024 report here: https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/most-americans-cant-recall-most-first-amendment-rights/