Most college students can’t identify Father of Constitution, study finds

in University of MississippiThe Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Liberty seeks to give students a deeper, more accurate understanding of America’s founding principles and the freedoms on which the nation was built. Director Dr. Steven Scultetti and Associate Director Dr. Rankin Schirling spoke with Fox News Digital about the center’s mission and their concern that too few Americans receive a solid education about the nation’s founding — a gap they believe contributes to many of the challenges facing the country today.

Sherling said ““It’s pure and utter ignorance” when it comes to knowledge of the founding documents among Americans. But he added that it’s not their fault.

“They’ve been taught a certain way,” he said. “And then that gets worse over time so that the teachers themselves don’t know what’s actually in the founding documents…and many of them haven’t even read the founding documents without some sort of training in what they mean.”

Dr. Rankin Schirling is Associate Director of the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Liberty at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

According to a comprehensive study conducted by US Chamber of Commerce Foundation 2024more than 70% of Americans fail a basic civic literacy test.

“Every year, they do a whole bunch of studies and they do a whole bunch of surveys, and they find year after year that students’ knowledge of American civics, American historical traditions of liberty and justice — it’s not something that students know very much about,” Scoltetti said.

A Study 2024 The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that among college students, only 31% knew that James Madison was “Father of the constitutionAnd only 23% knew that the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” comes from the Gettysburg Address.

Schirling believes the problem stems from the fact that students rarely read or engage with the founding documents directly.

“Unfortunately, most students have never read the founding documents,” he said. “They were told what those documents said.”

OLE Miss students celebrate “Once in a Lifetime” night with Erica Kirk and J.D. Vance

The college town of Oxford, Mississippi, is home to the main campus of the University of Mississippi, or “Ole Miss.” (Wesley Hitt via Getty Images)

Schirling emphasized that the center works to provide students with knowledge about America’s founding documents: “We have lessons on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers.”

“I believe that American values ​​are enshrined in our Judeo-Christian heritage and our Western heritage, both of which are incorporated and found in the Declaration of Independence,” Sherling added.

Cato Institute Fourth of July 2025 National Survey A recent study found that among just over 2,000 Americans, 53% did not know that the Declaration of Independence was adopted to separate the colonies from Britain in 1776. However, 64% said they believed freedom was at risk in America and that the Founding Fathers would be disappointed with the way the U.S. Constitution is followed today.

According to Annenberg Center for Public PolicyNearly 70% of US adults were able to name the three branches of government in a study published in September. In addition, when asked what rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment, 79% answered freedom of expression, while less than half mentioned the other four rights. Religious freedom was mentioned by only 48%.

However, the Cato survey found lower levels of civic literacy, with more than a third of Americans unable to name the three branches of government.

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Sherling also stressed this Cancel culture It remains a problem in academia nationwide.

“It happened captured academy,“People are resisting it now, finally, but it’s still going strong,” he said.

Sherling doesn’t want Americans to think that the founding of the United States was based on oppression.

“America has all this really resonant language about freedom and justice and equality and all that, but really, that’s just a sleight of hand to cover up the fact that what they really wanted to do was continue the institution of slavery to continue the oppression of women and facilitate the taking of indigenous lands,” Sherling said. “I’m not saying these things didn’t happen, but to say that the United States of America is what it’s about, that’s what it’s about…that’s absolutely not true. And if you sit down with the founding documents, you’ll be able to defend against that charge.”

According to the 2024 ACTA report, only 28% of college students know that the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. In a 2021 ACTA studyresearchers found that only 18% of four-year colleges and universities require a bachelor’s degree Foundation course in US history or government – a number that has decreased over the past decade.

“The Advertising Center is really focused on making sure that students, faculty and citizens around the world Mississippi State “We have an opportunity to examine our founding documents, but in particular, we want people to reflect on the importance and value of our tradition of American freedom,” Scoltetti said.

Fox News Digital also interviewed Emily Purefoy, a sophomore who is a Liberty Studies minor in the Advertising Center program, and discussed her experience.

Emily Purefoy, a student at Ole Miss, sits inside the Declaration of Independence Center office. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

“I talked to students outside of class and found that there are a lot of people who agree with me. They don’t really know. They know they disagree, but they don’t quite know why,” Purifoy said. “I think it’s due to lack of education.”

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Purifoy explained how the center helped provide her with additional knowledge to defend her beliefs.

“I think I’ve become more educated in terms of what I believe in. I grew up conservative, so I knew who I was going to vote for and what my politics were, but I didn’t really know why. And I think the Ad Center has really taught me that and it’s just a baseline of why America matters.”

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Fox News Digital’s Alba Cuevas Fantauzzi contributed to this report.