Survey: Just A Quarter Of Americans Can Name All 3

Branches Of Government

25Sep - by Daniel Steingold - 248 - In Education Studies Political Studies

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PHILADELPHIA A sizable portion of the American public seems to show little interest in the
fabric of the countrys government and history, a new survey finds.

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Researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) surveyed over 1,000 American adults,
finding a shocking lack of knowledge as it pertains to U.S. politics among the general populace.

Fifty-three percent of respondents believed the

falsehood that illegal immigrants arent granted
any constitutional rights, while 37 percent
couldnt even name a single right endowed by
the First Amendment.

Thankfully, 48 percent of those surveyed were

able to identify freedom of speech as being a
right enshrined by the First Amendment,
although far fewer could identify other rights
accorded.
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In a new survey of American adults, just a quarter
were able to name all three branches of the federal
government, while 37% couldnt name a single right
protected by First Amendment.
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 These include freedom of religion (15 percent),
freedom of the press (14 percent), right of
peaceful assembly (10 percent), and right to petition the government (three percent).

Protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution presupposes that we know what they are.
The fact that many dont is worrisome, says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg
Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, in a press release. These results
emphasize the need for high-quality civics education in the schools and for press reporting that
underscores the existence of constitutional protections.

Meanwhile, only 26 percent of Americans could name all three branches of the federal
government that would be the executive, legislative, and judicial, for those playing at home.

While conservatives were more likely to be able to name all three branches than liberals or
moderates, the overall proportion of the public that can name all three has fallen by 12 percent
since 2011.

Perhaps most embarrassing: a full third of respondents couldnt name a single federal branch of
government, a figure that hasnt shifted over the past half-decade.

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As for the rights of illegal immigrants, a majority of conservatives (67 percent) believed that
illegal aliens were not provided any legal recourse, compared to slight minorities of moderates
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 (48 percent) and liberals (46 percent).

In reality, illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. are usually afforded a number of rights, including
protection under the 14th Amendments equal protection clause.

On another note, its somewhat surprising that a significant minority of respondents believed that
one could be denied rights on the basis of their religion (e.g., if they were Muslim or atheist).

The polls findings have a sampling error of about 3.7 percentage points.

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American history , Constitution , First Amendment , government , Politics

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 Daniel Steingold
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