It’s Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 131st birthday today, but if you’re like nearly half the nation, you might be asking, “Who?”
Knowledge about the nation’s 34th president, the subject of a recent strung-out battle over his monument in Washington, D.C., and a question on the U.S. citizenship test, is apparently fuzzy.
In a new survey that closely follows the citizenship test, just 57% knew that Ike fought in World War II. Actually, the five-star Army general commanded allied forces against Germany before winning the presidency.
Another 12% thought he was in the Civil War, possibly because he is so closely associated with Gettysburg, where he lived. Some 9% said the Spanish-American War, 6% the Vietnam War, and the rest, at 15%, were clueless.
The quasi-citizenship survey was conducted by Lincoln Park Strategies for The Driving Force Institute, which supports the teaching of history with custom curriculums and digital platforms. It has launched a video initiative to help teachers and schools, timely considering the focus on at-home learning during the coronavirus crisis.
In the survey, provided to Secrets, just 42% passed.
The low points: Only 17% knew that the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787, and 36% thought Benjamin Franklin invented the lightbulb.
But the survey, in its third year, found an increase in those who knew that nine justices serve on the Supreme Court, an increase from 43% to 51% since 2018.
Patrick Riccards, founder of DFI, said, “We launched our initiative to make American history content interesting and relevant for today’s learners, especially females and people of color. The latest survey shows we’re not moving fast enough. Americans are rightfully proud of their country, but they risk losing what makes it special if more of us don’t understand and appreciate our history.”
