A majority of Americans can’t recall most First Amendment rights

Less than half of Americans can name most of the rights protected under the First Amendment and under two-thirds can name the three branches of government, according to the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, released annually since 2014.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center's nationally representative survey, conducted in May 2024 with about 1,600 U.S. adults, finds levels of public knowledge largely unchanged from 2023. As was true last year, most Americans could name only a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment: freedom of speech, provided by nearly 3 in 4 respondents.

The survey also found strong public support for several potential reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court, including term limits, mandatory retirement ages, and prohibiting justices from participating in cases in which they have "personal or financial interests."

The 2024 edition of the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, released annually to celebrate Constitution Day on Sept. 17, finds that nearly two-thirds of Americans can name all three branches of government. When asked what specific rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment, nearly three-quarters of respondents name freedom of speech. The other four rights are recalled by far fewer people: the second most-often cited, freedom of religion, is named by just 39%. A little over half of U.S. adults know which party controls the Senate and which controls the House of Representatives, and over 80% of Americans support prohibiting Supreme Court justices from participating in cases in which they have "personal or financial interests." Nearly as many people support creation of a formal ethics code for the court.

"Civics knowledge matters," says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. "Those who do not understand the rights protected by the Constitution can neither cherish nor invoke them; those who do not know which party controls the House and Senate may misattribute credit or blame for action or inaction."

Read more at Annenberg Public Policy Center.