The kids aren’t all right when it comes to understanding how government works.
That’s according to the findings in a new survey that asked American college students no-brainer civics questions about history, lawmaking and U.S. governance — and got no-brained responses.
“Students today are sadly unprepared for participation in our democratic republic, as these results show,” said Bradley Jackson of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which administered the 35-question survey dubbed Losing America’s Memory 2.0.
“Our form of government requires citizens who understand its nature and history,” Jackson continued in a news release, per the New York Post. “It should not be possible to get a bachelor’s degree without learning the basics of American history and government, but this is the norm on our college campuses.”
Among the embarrassing findings?
Only 27% of the more than 3,000 young scholars knew that Vice-President Kamala Harris also sits as the Senate’s president — a key role in breaking ties after deadlocked votes. Similarly, only 28% of college kids knew that the 13th Amendment was what ended slavery.
Fear not, as 89% knew that Jeff Bezos runs Amazon.
Despite Donald Trump’s recent impeachment and speculation that Joe Biden could face a similar fate, just 32% of respondents knew such a trial takes place before the Senate.
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Only 35% of respondents knew that Louisiana’s Mike Johnson was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 60% didn’t know the legislative branch’s term limit in years. Just 32% knew that the legislative branch had the power to declare war and nearly half of college students surveyed thought that was the president’s executive authority.
More than half — 51% — thought the Constitution was drafted in 1776 and 44% thought president Thomas Jefferson was the “father of the Constitution,” rather than president James Madison.
“American colleges and universities must step up and take responsibility for this sorry state of affairs,” Jackson said. “They must lead the way toward a renewal of civic education rather than aggravating polarization and flattening our discourse with illiberal ideology.”