Gen Z Fails Basic Civics Quiz as America Nears Its 250th
The new Cato Institute Fourth of July Survey, conducted with Morning Consult, asked seven basic civic knowledge questions as the country celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary. A majority of Gen Z correctly answered only one of them.
While about two-thirds (66%) of Gen Z correctly identified George Washington as the first president, a substantial minority (34%) could not.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of Americans under 30 are unaware of what America’s 250th is commemorating this year, while just 39% know we are celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Of those who answered incorrectly, 11% thought America’s 250th was celebrating the first presidential election, 8% thought it was the ratification of the Constitution, 7% thought it was the victory of the Revolutionary War, 4% thought it was the pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock, 1% said it was the founding of Jamestown, and 30% admitted they didn’t know what America’s 250th is about.
A majority (52%) of Gen Z Americans also don’t know what country from which the American colonies declared their independence, while 48% correctly answered that it was Great Britain.
