Way too many Americans think we declared independence from Mexico in 1776

[rangerrebew]

Way too many Americans think we declared independence from Mexico in 1776
July 4, 2017 | BPR Wire | Print Article   
 

Thomas Phippen, DCNF

Some Americans apparently believe that the U.S. declared its independence from Mexico in 1776, according to a poll released Tuesday.

While 77 percent of the people surveyed correctly named Great Britain when asked which country the United States won its independence from, 23 percent — nearly a quarter of the population — named the wrong country or weren’t sure, a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found.

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/07/04/way-many-americans-think-declared-independence-mexico-1776-510127

[rangerrebew]

 

[skeeter]

It'd be interesting to see the ethnic breakdown of the respondents. Considering that fifteen percent of the people in this country are foreign born together with the quality of education available publicly its no surprise Americans are losing grasp of the history of their own country.

[Wingnut]

The break down By race is here:

http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us170621_PBS_NPR/NPR_PBS%20NewsHour_Marist%20Poll_National%20Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_4th%20of%20July_July%202017.pdf#page=3

Blacks followed by latino's lead the wave of incorrect answers

[skeeter]

The break down By race is here:

http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/misc/usapolls/us170621_PBS_NPR/NPR_PBS%20NewsHour_Marist%20Poll_National%20Nature%20of%20the%20Sample%20and%20Tables_4th%20of%20July_July%202017.pdf#page=3

Blacks followed by latino's lead the wave of incorrect answers

Edwards was right - there are two Americas. The smart half and the rest.

[Smokin Joe]

Edwards was right - there are two Americas. The smart half and the rest.

Scroll up to page two at that link and look at party affiliation: Democrat 33%, Republican 28%, Independent 38%

This is just a sample of 1205 adults including 995 registered voters, but if that accurately reflects the voting population, it also reflects those who consider themselves conservative (27%) and very conservative (11%) (oddly enough the same total (38%) as those who consider themselves Independent.

While that does not mean there is overlap in the groups, I'd wager there is. (Some of those will be disaffected Bernie supporters in the "Independent" bunch.) Not having numbers to compare with, I wonder how much the major parties are bleeding members after this last election's shenanigans.

[skeeter]

Scroll up to page two at that link and look at party affiliation: Democrat 33%, Republican 28%, Independent 38%

This is just a sample of 1205 adults including 995 registered voters, but if that accurately reflects the voting population, it also reflects those who consider themselves conservative (27%) and very conservative (11%) (oddly enough the same total (38%) as those who consider themselves Independent.

While that does not mean there is overlap in the groups, I'd wager there is. (Some of those will be disaffected Bernie supporters in the "Independent" bunch.) Not having numbers to compare with, I wonder how much the major parties are bleeding members after this last election's shenanigans.

I would suspect more than ever. As long as both parties are bleeding equally generally speaking thats a good thing.

[Applewood]

I blame the schools.  Some no longer teach history -- budget cuts, yet they have money for sports.  Others teach commie approved history -- the kind where America is portrayed as the aggressor/evil empire, or something. 

The schools don't teach geography either. I once saw a report of a survey conducted in all 50 states, where participants from each state were asked for the name of their state's capital city.  Most got it wrong and a significant number didn't answer at all because they didn't know the answer.  One guy asked "what's a capital city?"   

[the_doc]

I blame the schools.  Some no longer teach history -- budget cuts, yet they have money for sports.  Others teach commie approved history -- the kind where America is portrayed as the aggressor/evil empire, or something. 

The schools don't teach geography either. I once saw a report of a survey conducted in all 50 states, where participants from each state were asked for the name of their state's capital city.  Most got it wrong and a significant number didn't answer at all because they didn't know the answer.  One guy asked "what's a capital city?"   

On July 4th four or five years ago, a local TV news/weather person in San Diego went out onto one of the "party piers" in La Jolla to do "man on the street" interviews with college kids drinking on the pier.  He asked 10 college kids three questions each:

1) What historical event are we celebrating every July 4th, the day we call Independence Day?  (None of the students mentioned our Declaration of Independence in their response.)

2) Now that you know that we are celebrating July 4th as connecting us back to our nation's Declaration of Independence, in what year was that Declaration made public?  (None of the students were able to answer 1776.)

3) What was the country from which we declared our independence!? (Not a single one of the kids gave the answer Britain or United Kingdom or England.  Most said "I dunno," as I recall.  Some said Germany.  [I can't remember whether any of them said Mexico].)

After all ten struck out, the TV guy asked the same questions of a college student from the Czech Republlic.  He got all of the answers correct.

The TV guy was appalled.  So was I.  The difference between us is that he was merely appalled.  I was angry.  (I was angry at our schools and the kids' parents.  I confess that I was also angry at the kids themselves.  Their apathy is inexcusable no matter how lousy their educational and family environment has been.  Celebrating with booze, potentially okay, is actually pretty obscene when the celebrants don't even care what they are really celebrating.)

[Wingnut]

Edwards was right - there are two Americas. The smart half and the rest.

Actually there are 3.  The smart half.  The rest and scum sucking Laywers.

[Fishrrman]

skeeter wrote:
"It'd be interesting to see the ethnic breakdown of the respondents. Considering that fifteen percent of the people in this country are foreign born together with the quality of education available publicly its no surprise Americans are losing grasp of the history of their own country."

This is exactly "by design"!

Read about Gramsci and the Frankfurt School.

This is how you convert a nation to marxism/socialism on the sly.

[RoosGirl]

I blame the schools.  Some no longer teach history -- budget cuts, yet they have money for sports.  Others teach commie approved history -- the kind where America is portrayed as the aggressor/evil empire, or something. 

The schools don't teach geography either. I once saw a report of a survey conducted in all 50 states, where participants from each state were asked for the name of their state's capital city.  Most got it wrong and a significant number didn't answer at all because they didn't know the answer.  One guy asked "what's a capital city?"   

A friend of mine had a high school Spanish teacher that could not find Spain on the map.  This was 30 years ago.

[DB]

I blame the schools.  Some no longer teach history -- budget cuts, yet they have money for sports.  Others teach commie approved history -- the kind where America is portrayed as the aggressor/evil empire, or something. 

The schools don't teach geography either. I once saw a report of a survey conducted in all 50 states, where participants from each state were asked for the name of their state's capital city.  Most got it wrong and a significant number didn't answer at all because they didn't know the answer.  One guy asked "what's a capital city?"   

It is said 27% of the people in California are foreign born. They have no real knowledge of our history, our constitution or culture. And they likely vote. It isn't a mystery why the state is going off the rails at a rapid pace.

[truth_seeker]

It is said 27% of the people in California are foreign born. They have no real knowledge of our history, our constitution or culture. And they likely vote. It isn't a mystery why the state is going off the rails at a rapid pace.

FWIW some foreign born, are proud patriotic naturalized citizens. (In California)

My mother-in-law, her brother, his wife (a physician) to mention some that I have known. Against illegal immigration, very conservative.

[the_doc]

FWIW some foreign born, are proud patriotic naturalized citizens. (In California)

I agree (FWIW).  But I frankly wonder what percentage of immigrants in California fit that description.  I have personally discovered that a huge percentage of adult immigrants in California have been in the U.S. for more than a decade and yet still speak practically no English.  They manifestly don't care to be assimilated.  They have been taught by Global Socialists to expect us Americans to accommodate ourselves to them in essentially everything. 

[truth_seeker]

I agree (FWIW).  But I frankly wonder what percentage of immigrants in California fit that description.  I have personally discovered that a huge percentage of adult immigrants in California have been in the U.S. for more than a decade and yet still speak practically no English.  They manifestly don't care to be assimilated.  They have been taught by Global Socialists to expect us Americans to accommodate ourselves to them in essentially everything.

They are not a monolith. The people I cited, immigrated legally from Italy soon after WWII.

I grew up in North Orange County, in the midst of 1st and 2nd generation Hispanics for the most part. We did NOT have "ESL" is school, so a kid in grammar school might have had an accent, by adulthood he/she had none to notice.

Since many nations' citizens are mulita-lingual before they get to the US, they start off speaking English.

I have two friends from Holland. The younger has little accent, because he studied English throughout school. The older has a strong accent, because he had less education.

A nephew of mine married a lady from the Philippines. Another friend married a  (Christian) lady from Indonesia. A 3rd married a lady from Columbia, who is a professional translator. Has an accent, but also a big vocabulary.

I had a very good business client years ago, who was from Japan. His accent was strong, but he was a translator during WWII, and had a big vocabulary.

[Applewood]

@the_doc

"The TV guy was appalled.  So was I.  The difference between us is that he was merely appalled.  I was angry. I was angry at our schools and the kids' parents.  I confess that I was also angry at the kids themselves.  Their apathy is inexcusable no matter how lousy their educational and family environment has been.  Celebrating with booze, potentially okay, is actually pretty obscene when the celebrants don't even care what they are really celebrating.)"

I was raised by parents who made sure we learned, even if we didn't want to.  As a kid, some subjects were admittedly boring, and I didn't see what good they would do me.  My parents would have none of that.  They scrutinized every report card; they made sure we did our homework; they attended each parent/teacher conference.  Where I live, there are broken homes, absentee parents and parents who only had the kids so they could collect a bigger government check.  If you asked about their children's last report card, they would have no idea how their kids are doing in most subjects, and they really don't care.