Although 84 percent of the people responding to the National Constitutional Center’s recent Constitutional Knowledge Poll believe that our system of government depends on active and informed citizens, only 5 percent could correctly answer ten rudimentary questions about the Constitution. Six percent failed to answer even one question correctly.
Percent of survey respondents who don’t know that . . .
- The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787: 81 percent
- There are 435 voting members in the House of Representatives: 77 percent
- There are six years in a Senator’s term: 57 percent
- There are two years in a Representative’s term: 55 percent
- There are 100 Senators: 52 percent
- The introduction to the U.S. Constitution is called the Preamble: 45 percent
- There are three branches of government: 41 percent
- The U.S. Constitution was written in Philadelphia: 39 percent
- The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights: 34 percent
- The President nominates the Supreme Court Justices: 30 percent
