Nearly half of Americans don’t know what America 250 is celebrating: Poll

Polls Nearly half of Americans don’t know what America 250 is celebrating: Poll Comments: by Sarah Davis - 07/03/26 10:42 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 07/03/26 10:42 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary on Saturday, almost half of Americans do not know what the day celebrates, according to a new survey released on Thursday.

A nation-wide poll conducted by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute found that only 53 percent of respondents could correctly identify the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as the historical event marked by July 4.

Forty-six percent of Americans surveyed said they did not know what the day commemorated, including 61 percent of Gen Z respondents.

Additionally, 58 percent of all those surveyed did not know the main purpose of the U.S. Constitution and 57 percent could not explain why the U.S. declared independence from Great Britain to form a government with limited powers.

These results follow reports of low patriotism among some sections of the U.S. population ahead of America’s birthday party in Washington, D.C., and anniversary celebrations across the country.

The D.C. celebration, which will take place on the National Mall on Saturday afternoon, will include hours of military flyovers, a political rally led by President Trump and a record-breaking fireworks display.

While a majority of respondents in the Cato survey, 86 percent, expressed their gratitude to be Americans, 60 percent said they believe the country has moved away from its founding principles.

Additionally, 56 percent expressed concern that the U.S. could cease to be a free nation in the next 50 years. People in this group cited worries about corruption, concentrations and abuse of power and an ignorance of the nation’s founding principles.

Respondents ranked freedom of speech, voting rights, equal protection under law, freedom of religion and the right to due process among their most valued protections in this survey.

The Cato Institute poll was conducted among 2,253 Americans between June 25 and 26 with a margin of error of approximately 2 percentage points.

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