Project Appleseed

From the New York Post published yesterday:

Don't know much about history? Apparently, you're not alone.

As Americans prepare to spend the Fourth of July weekend enjoying the sizzling summer weather while marking this country's independence 234 years ago, a new poll found that a whopping one in four Americans have no clue which country the United States declared its independence from.

In a new Marist College poll released today, a shocking 26 percent failed to identify Great Britain as the country the US colonies fought to gain its independence, CNN reported.

That includes the 20 percent who were "unsure" and another six percent who thought the US fought a revolution, starting in 1776, against another country -- a list that included France, China, Japan, Mexico, and Spain, the poll found.

The poll surveyed 1,004 Americans between June 17 and 24. The survey has a margin of error of three percentage points.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/percent_gain_americans_have_its_QhGoegTLwJImnd06KuWUrO#ixzz0scY8PB2x

I suspect the percentage would have been lower had the option of "England" been listed rather than "Great Britain"....I know, small consolation.

Jeez, that's a question in the USCIS Naturalization Test Pool.  That's pretty bad when 'foreigners' know more basic US history that it's citizens.

Tom

Quote from: desertrat144 on July 08, 2010, 09:29:25 PMJeez, that's a question in the USCIS Naturalization Test Pool.  That's pretty bad when 'foreigners' know more basic US history that it's citizens.

My wife is studying now for her upcoming test.

I was not surprised that many of the answers she knows draw a complete blank when asked to many citizens. That 26% is actually kind of low. If they'd administered the whole test I can guarantee we'd see more failures than 26%.

Bail, baby, bail!

Hmmm...that'd be a DANDY first question to ask the shooters...if they know what country we fought against in the Rev War!

Don't get me started...

Quote from: slim on July 08, 2010, 09:55:15 PM

Quote from: desertrat144 on July 08, 2010, 09:29:25 PMJeez, that's a question in the USCIS Naturalization Test Pool.  That's pretty bad when 'foreigners' know more basic US history that it's citizens.

My wife is studying now for her upcoming test.

I was not surprised that many of the answers she knows draw a complete blank when asked to many citizens. That 26% is actually kind of low. If they'd administered the whole test I can guarantee we'd see more failures than 26%.

Congratulations to your wife for enduring all the BS in the screening & approval process without wringing some deserving necks!  USCIS has changed some of the test answers to reflect reality & court decisions-finally!  I hope know she will do well.

I find it quite curious that most folks that are citizens by accident of birth don't know much about their government, its workings (when it actually does  ), nor their obligations as US Citizens; most can't pass Poly Sci 101, or just barely do.  I guess we get what we deserve for our complacency.  4bfox may be on to something good.

Tom

This is sad and despicable.  How can we learn from the past if we do not even know it? 

At least all of us in this thread and on this site are doing something about it. Maybe next Independence Day when we see this stat come out again we'll see 13% instead of 26%. Remember, we double every year!

"Free" public education,  worth every dime. Your tax dollars at "work".   Speaking of tax dollars, has anyone calculated the tax burden, as a percentage, which our forefathers considered tyrannical oppression? 

Quote from: 4bfox on July 08, 2010, 09:58:07 PM
Hmmm...that'd be a DANDY first question to ask the shooters...if they know what country we fought against in the Rev War!

4 countries fought in the American Revolutionary War.

How many of you know the names of the countries? Hint, the Hessians fought for England, and therefore, count as English, not German.

There's also a very subtle hint right in front of you.