This fall, many college students will get to vote in their first election, but new research suggests they may want to brush up their knowledge first. A new survey from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni finds a lot of undergraduate college students don’t know much about how our government works or American history.
The poll of 3,026 undergrads asked 35 questions and the results show:
- Less than a third (31%) know that James Madison is the “Father of the Constitution.”
- Six in 10 students couldn’t correctly identify the term lengths of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
- Only 27% know that Vice President Kamala Harris is the President of the U.S. Senate, 28% thought it was President Biden.
- Just 35% know that Mike Johnson is the current speaker of the House of Representatives.
- Students are also unsure about who the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is. Only 37% know it’s John Roberts, and 16% said it was Clarence Thomas.
- Just 28% know that the 13th Amendment is the government action that freed the slaves.
- Less than a third (32%) know that the legislative branch of the government has the power to declare war.
- Despite the fact there were recently two presidential impeachment trials, just 32% know that an impeachment trial happens before the U.S. Senate, 30% mistakenly thought it takes place before the Supreme Court.
- Only a quarter of college students know that the Constitution doesn’t specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court, a third incorrectly said that it requires nine.
Source: American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Scott's Thoughts:
- These are not encouraging numbers at all! Especially in this important election year!
- I consider myself civic minded and I still would have missed a few of those questions.
- I think it’s important for Americans to understand how our government works and know about American history!