When Republican leadership demanded the U.S. Constitution be read on the floor of the House of Representatives to kick off the 112th Congress, a number of members complained, dubbing the reverance for the founding document “propaganda.”
But a new study suggests elected officials need a refresher course of Constitution 101 more than ever. According to a survey by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, America’s elected officials actually tend to know even less about key provisions of the U.S. Constitution than the general public.
For the fifth-straight year, the ISI surveyed more than 30,000 Americans to test their knowledge of the Constitution. Elected officials who took the test scored on average 5 percentage points lower than the national average (49 percent vs. 54 percent). AOL News gives some example findings:
Only 49 percent of elected officials could name all three branches of government, compared with 50 percent of the general public.
Only 46 percent knew that Congress, not the president, has the power to declare war — 54 percent of the general public knows that.
Just 15 percent answered correctly that the phrase “wall of separation” appears in Thomas Jefferson’s letters — not in the U.S. Constitution — compared with 19 percent of the general public.
And only 57 percent of those who’ve held elective office know what the Electoral College does, while 66 percent of the public got that answer right. (Of elected officials, 20 percent thought the Electoral College was a school for “training those aspiring for higher political office.”)
Overall, our sample of elected officials averaged a failing 44 percent on the entire 33-question test, 5 percentage points lower than the national average of 49 percent.
Given these results, perhaps Congress should review the Constitution more often.
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"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency........... Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
I did the same as DBH as far as score. A few I narrowed it down to two answers and guessed the wrong one, on at least one knew the "correct" answer but gave my opinion instead....and of course on some I just didn't know the answer. I missed the one on abortion because I just didn't read it close enough before answering.
Sad that a redneck with only a high school education could score that much higher than the national average, especially when I only spent maybe 5 minutes taking the test.
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Bah...I should have done better on the tax questions!
Quote:
You answered 27 out of 33 correctly — 81.82 %
Average score for this quiz during January: 75.8%
You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.
If you have any comments or questions about the quiz, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.
You can consult the following table to see how citizens and elected officials scored on each question. Where to from here?
Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #4 - B. Would slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?
Question #7 - D. Gettysburg Address
Question #15 - E. Thomas Jefferson’s letters
Question #22 - A. Congress
Question #27 - A. the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends
Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person
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I also matched DBH's score. I know the political questions (i.e. who can declare war, 3 branches, etc.) but couldn't remember all of the FDR history and didn't want to cheat. and yes, I know all too well that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Guess I better brush up a little.
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Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Question #27 - A. the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends
Question #29 - B. a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for it
Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person
Stephanie is not in complete agreement on #29
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Proud parents of our own "Daddy's Little Girls"
I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
I recently took a 7 week class at a local trade school, 10 students mostly women, aging from 20-47 Y/O, . one of them made a comment that "bush got us into this recession" Not one of them knew that the dems controled the house and the senate, since 1/07'. only 1 knew who nancy pelosi was.
Non ever heard of the underwear bomber, Acorn pimp scandal, or shirly scherod, None could name their own senators, schumer gillibrand... all obama voters
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Folks, it's sick out there, and it's getting sicker.
-Bob Grant
Last edited by DeerandbearhoG; 01-17-2011 at 08:54 AM.
i wonder where they got their "electeds" from? i've met more than my fair share of mind-numbingly stupid elected officials, but not that many from congress. most of the federal electeds i've met or worked with were reasonably bright. (that's not to say they may not have beeen amoral, opportunistic political whores, but they were mostly bright).
Are you smarter than elected officials??????
