The 2025 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, released annually to celebrate Constitution Day on Sept. 17, finds that Americans are more knowledgeable this year in answering basic civics questions.
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Americans are more knowledgeable this year in answering basic civics questions, according to the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, conducted annually by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.
More than two-thirds of U.S. adults were able to name all three branches of government, the executive (the president), judicial (the courts), and legislative (Congress), significantly more than a year ago.
Image: Paul Chinn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP Images
When asked which specific rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment, the survey finds that nearly four in five people can name “freedom of speech,” a statistically significant increase over the 74% who cited it in 2024.
“People can’t cherish, safeguard, or exercise their constitutionally protected rights unless they know that they have them and understand how effective use of them sustains our system of government,” says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of APPC. “Civics education at home and in schools should be a high priority as a result.”
Released in advance of Constitution Day on Sept. 17, the nationally representative survey also finds that trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to deteriorate, with nearly 6 in 10 people voicing little or no trust that the nation’s highest court is operating in their best interests. The survey finds popular support across party lines for several potential proposals to reform the Supreme Court, including a prohibition on the justices participating in cases in which they have conflicts of interest; creation of a formal ethics code; establishment of a mandatory retirement age; and term limits.
In observance of Constitution Day, APPC’sLeonore Annenberg Institute for Civics releases an annual film about facets of the U.S. Constitution. This year’s film explores the importance and history of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which has impacted the ongoing debate about the balance of state and federal powers.
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