AMERICANS'
KNOWLEDGE OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
A Columbia Law Survey
May 2002
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Conducted by
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Press Release
Fact Sheet
Vice Dean Michael Dorf's Columns About the Survey on FindLaw.com
"Americans' Knowledge of the U.S. Constitution"
A Columbia Law Survey
-CARAVAN Telephone Sampling Methodology
-Reliability of Survey Percentages
-Sampling Tolerances When Comparing Two Samples
-Introduction to Detailed Tabulations
-Detailed Tabulations (requires Adobe Acrobat)
FACT SHEET
Columbia Law Survey: Americans’ Knowledge of the U.S.
Constitution
Condensed Survey Results / May 2002
I. Does the Constitution include the following statement about the proper role of government: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
| YES | 35% |
| NO | 31% |
| DON’T KNOW | 34% |
| CORRECT ANSWER | No |
II. The U.S. Constitution states the following: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”
| TRUE | 83% |
| FALSE | 10% |
| DON’T KNOW | 7% |
| CORRECT ANSWER | True |
III. “In time of war or other declared national emergency, the President may suspend the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.”
| TRUE | 32% |
| FALSE | 60% |
| DON’T KNOW | 9% |
| CORRECT ANSWER | False |
IV. “A Justice of the Supreme Court serves for a term of twelve years, at the conclusion of which, he or she may be appointed to a second twelve-year term by the President.”
| TRUE | 24% |
| FALSE | 64% |
| DON’T KNOW | 12% |
| CORRECT ANSWER | False |
V. “If the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe v. Wade, abortion would be illegal throughout the United States.”
| TRUE | 57% |
| FALSE | 32% |
| DON’T KNOW | 11% |
| CORRECT ANSWER | False |