American Civic Literacy Test 2008

In Spring 2008, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute [ISI] administered a 33-question, basic civic literacy test.

On average, 2,508 randomly selected Americans failed.

On Election Day 2008 ISI posed the following questions to voters.

www.AmericanCivicLiteracy.org

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• civic
• literacy
• test
• ISI
• Intercollegiate
• stupid
• us
• usa
• united
• states
• of
• america
• intelligent
• american
• government
• dumb

[yohannbiimu]

Americans should be able to pass a basic American civic test before they are allowed to register to vote. People who don't know anything about our government, or WHY we are a republic that is governed with constitutional rule have no stake in our future, and thus should be LEFT OUT OF DECIDING who is elected or not. The reason we are in such a mess right now is an IGNORANT and UNCARING voting public. A CITIZEN should know what they are a citizen OF.

[BenjaminWirtz]

@FAHayek89

After long studying of the 17th Amendment, it's history and relation to the 9th and 10th Amendments I did settle on the conclusion that it is better for the Representatives to choose Senators. as far as a voter aptitude test, I think the idea is good but it gets tricky in how it should be done fairly and who should give it. People who are naturalized citizens have to take a test yet natural born citizens do not.

[FAHayek89]

@wbcarlisle I don't care for Obama's politics, but remember - most of these people also look old enough to have been part of the majority who voted for Bush as well. This isn't a conservative - liberal issue. This is an American issue, which makes it much more dangerous.

[FAHayek89]

@lindenprof I could spin that and say they were capable of distinguising between natural/human rights and civil/legal rights and rejected the first, or that they are all legal positivists, but I doubt they've read Hart or Kelsen. Very sad.

[FAHayek89]

@BenjaminWirtz Sorry about the typo below. I don't disagree, but as a strict constructionist, I see it is a relevant distinction.

In any case, this video gives fuel to my claim that motor voter and automatic voter registration measures are bad ideas. This may also be support for an argument against direct election of the Senate.

[BenjaminWirtz]

@FAHayek89

Yes that is the loophole but the result is pretty much the same as a war.

[FAHayek89]

@BenjaminWirtz Tehcnically, they were not unconstitutional. They were military conflicts that do not technically qualify as official wars.

[BenjaminWirtz]

To the last question, it is supposed to be the president with Congressional approval, however every was after WWII has not had congressional approval so they have technically been unconstitutional.

[BenjaminWirtz]

The people the man and the military, of all the wrong answers to the first question, that one is the best.

That being said it is said how little the American people know, I mean questions like these are what people applying for citizenship need to know, so maybe people who are already citizens should just take that test so they can be up to par.

[cgchex05]

I could NEVER be an interviewer for these things; I'd laugh right in some idiot's face and get smacked!