The Bill of Rights is arguably the single most important declaration of rights in human history. Yet, polling reveals Americans know shockingly little about the historic first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
This year, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago conducted a poll gauging voters’ knowledge (or lack thereof) about the five specific rights protected by the First Amendment. “The results were dismal,” the Center reported.
“Almost a third of Americans could not name a single enumerated right protected by the First Amendment and another 40% could name only one — usually freedom of speech,” the survey of 1,140 participants discovered. “Only 3% of Americans could name all five….”
Unfortunately, this is not a new problem.
In 2017, a similarly dismal poll from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center led CNN’s then-editor-at-large, Chris Cillizza, to exclaim, “Americans know literally nothing about the Constitution.” According to that poll, 37% of Americans could not name a single First Amendment Right.
“Protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution presupposes that we know what they are,” noted Annenberg Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “The fact that many don’t is worrisome.”
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Delving further into the past, data from the close of the 20th century reveals equally disconcerting trends. “Only one-third of adult Americans can correctly identify the Bill of Rights and fewer than 1 in 10 know it was adopted to protect them against abuses by the Federal Government,” the New York Times reported in 1991.
More encouraging, a recent survey uncovered that over 90% of Americans believe the First Amendment is “vital.” However, this raises the question, how can we adequality appreciate and defend our rights if most Americans are not even aware of what they are?
On our journey to convening history’s first-ever Article V convention, the Convention of States' grassroots army is also committed to boosting the nation’s flagging constitutional literacy. “No free government, or the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people, but by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles,” said George Mason, the Father of Article V. And while we have, regrettably, strayed from his wise words, we can begin repairing that damage today when we pick up the Constitution and study it for ourselves.
As we celebrate 232 years of the Bill of Rights, please consider supporting our mission to boost constitutional awareness in America and call an Article V convention by signing the Convention of States petition below.
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How well do Americans know the Bill of Rights? Polling reveals shocking results.
Published in Blog on December 14, 2023 by Jakob Fay
