by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 3, 2026
The overwhelming majority of respondents in a new Cato Institute poll say they are grateful and proud to be American, but nearly 6 in 10 believe the USA has moved away from its founding principles.
The survey, conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult of 2,253 Americans ahead of July 4th and America’s 250th anniversary, finds large majorities are grateful (86%) and proud (79%) to be Americans.
Most also believe America is a land of opportunity (61%), and even more believe the American Dream (74%) is available to them personally.
As the nation celebrates its birth, most Americans feel positive (76%) about the nation’s founding, and 70% believe its founding principles remain relevant today. In particular, overwhelming majorities believe the U.S. Constitution is important for protecting our rights and freedoms (86%) and for enabling America’s prosperity (82%).
However, nearly 6 in 10 believe the country has moved away from the founding principles, and 56% worry the U.S. could stop being a free country within the next 50 years.
Respondents said another risk to the country is low substantive civic knowledge on basic governance questions. For instance, while 77% know George Washington was the first president, 58% don’t know what the main purpose of the U.S. Constitution is, and 57% don’t know the reason we declared independence from Great Britain and created our government with limited powers.
Capitalism (52%) is viewed more favorably than socialism (37%).
Gen Z stands out with more who are supportive of socialism (53%) than capitalism (45%).
The survey found the “Democratic Socialist” label can both help and harm a candidate about equally. While 39% said they’d be more likely to vote for a Democratic Socialist candidate, 40% said they’d be less likely, and 22% weren’t sure either way. Democrats (61%) and Gen Z (51%) reported they’d be likely to vote for a candidate with the Democratic Socialist label.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of Gen Z don’t know what America’s 250th commemorates. A little over half (53%) of all respondents but only 39% of Gen Z correctly identified that the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776—250 years ago—is the reason for this year’s celebration.
