THE REPUBLIC IS ASLEEP While 96% of immigrants seeking naturalization pass the test, a 2018 survey revealed that just 13% of Americans at large knew when the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Amazingly, a majority couldn’t say which countries the U.S. fought in World War II, and only one in four could say why American colonists fought a war against Great Britain.
The civic ignorance of American young people is vast, but the tide may be turning.
The scale of America’s civic ignorance is staggering. In June, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) conducted a national survey of college students that delved into their basic knowledge of American history and government and found that significant numbers of college students graduate without even a rudimentary grasp of America’s history and political system.