July 4th parades, fireworks and cookouts are an American tradition. We have much to celebrate and much for which to be thankful.

More than two centuries ago a group of individuals pledged their lives, fortunes and "sacred honor" in support what were then radical notions: Government derives its power from the governed, government power is limited, and individuals are entitled to certain rights as an matter of citizenship.

England, at the time, was the super-power of its day and the colonies were largely a collection of farms and hamlets located near the Atlantic coast. Opposition to English authority was not a matter undertaken lightly and many in the colonies did not support the revolution. For some, the decision to sign the Declaration of Independence would mean impoverishment, imprisonment, and death.

More than two hundred years later we continue to debate how government should be organized and operated, yet the ideas and systems set in motion during the summer of 1776 remain central to us today.

Unfortunately, a large number of our young people appear to be entirely unaware of their history. A just-released survey of 1,000 teenagers by Colonial Williamsburg found that:

• Twenty-two percent don't know what country America declared independence from during the Revolutionary War (14 percent think it was France).

• Seventeen percent don't know that there were 13 original colonies.
  

• Fifteen percent don't know that the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress.

• One in 10 don't know George Washington was the first president of the United States.

• Twenty-four percent don't know who fought in the Civil War (13 percent think it was the U.S. and Great Britain).

• Nineteen percent can't identify the three branches of government.

• Thirty-one percent don't know that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner.

• Ninety-eight percent know that the capital of the United States is in Washington, D.C.

• Ninety-six percent know that George W. Bush is the current president.

"When you look at these numbers, it means that more than five million U.S. teenagers don't understand the true meaning of Independence Day," said Colin Campbell, president and chairman of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. "As our nation is taking a hard look at our education system, these statistics indicate American history is one area that we can't afford to ignore."

Enjoy the 4th, be safe, speak to children about our history -- and please visit the links below.

OUR FOUNDING DOCUMENTS

Declaration of Independence
Constitution of the United States

THE SIGNERS

Signers of the Declaration of Independence

IMPORTANT NOTIONS

The Writings of John Locke
Common Sense, Thomas Paine
The Federalist Papers
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry
The Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln
Civil Disobedience, Henry Thoreau
The Four Freedoms, Franklin Roosevelt

HISTORIC PLACES

The White House
The U.S. Capitol
The U.S. Supreme Court
Independence Hall
Mount Vernon
Monticello
Williamsburg

Published: July 3, 2001

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