Death of American history? Professors warn students, even teachers show ‘shocking ignorance’ of founding docs

At the University of Mississippi, the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom seeks to give students a deeper, more accurate understanding of America’s founding principles and the freedoms on which the nation was built. Director Dr. Steven Skultety and Associate Director Dr. Rankin Sherling spoke with Fox News Digital about the Center’s mission and their concern that too few Americans receive a solid education on the nation’s founding — a gap they believe contributes to many of the challenges facing the country today.

Sherling said "it's pure and utter ignorance" when it comes to the knowledge of founding documents among Americans. But he added it's not their fault. 

"They've been taught in a certain way. And then this is compounded over time so that the teachers themselves are ignorant of what's actually in the founding documents… many of them haven't read the founding documents without some sort of coaching as to what they mean," he said.

According to a comprehensive study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in 2024, more than 70% of Americans failed a basic civic-literacy quiz.

"Every year, they do a whole bunch of studies and run a whole bunch of surveys, and they find year after year that students’ knowledge of American civics, and the American historical tradition of liberty and justice — it’s just not something students know very much about," Skultety said.

A 2024 study by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that among college students, only 31% knew that James Madison is the "Father of the Constitution." And only 23% knew that the phrase "government of the people, by the people, for the people" comes from the Gettysburg Address.

Sherling believes the problem stems from students rarely reading or engaging directly with the founding documents.

"Unfortunately, most students never read the founding documents," he said. "They’re told what those documents say."

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Sherling emphasized that the Center is working to equip students on knowledge about America's founding documents: "We have classes on the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers."

"I think that the American values are enshrined in our Judeo-Christian heritage and our Western heritage and both of those are really combined and found in the Declaration of Independence," Sherling added.

The Cato Institute's 2025 Fourth of July National Survey found that, among just over 2,000 Americans, 53% did not know that the Declaration of Independence was adopted to separate the colonies from Britain in 1776. However, 64% said they believe freedom is at risk in America and that the Founding Fathers would be disappointed in how the U.S. Constitution is being followed today.

According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center, approximately 70% of U.S. adults could name all three branches of government in a study published in September. Additionally, when asked which rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment, 79% said freedom of speech, while fewer than half named the other four rights. Freedom of religion was mentioned by only 48%.

Cato’s survey, however, found lower levels of civic knowledge, with more than one-third of Americans unable to name all three branches of government.

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Sherling also emphasized that cancel culture continues to be a problem in academia nationwide. 

"It has captured academia," he said. "People are pushing back against that now, finally, but it’s still strong."

Sherling doesn't want Americans to believe that the founding of the U.S. was based off of oppression. 

"America has all this really highfalutin language about liberty and justice and equality and all of that but really, that's just, you know, a sleight of hand to cover up the fact that what they really wanted to do was continue the institution of slavery to continue the oppression of women and to further facilitate the taking of Native lands," Sherling said. "I'm not saying that those things didn't happen, but to say that the United States of America is about that, that's what it's about… That is absolutely just untrue. And if you sit with the founding documents, you'll be able to defend against that charge."

According to ACTA’s 2024 report, only 28% of college students knew that the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. In a 2021 ACTA study, researchers found that only 18% of four-year colleges and universities require a foundational course in U.S. history or government — a number that has declined over the past decade.

"The Declaration Center really focuses on making sure that students, faculty and citizens across the state of Mississippi have a chance to study our founding documents, but in particular, we want people to think about the importance and value of our tradition of American liberty," Skultety said.

Fox News Digital also interviewed Emily Purifoy, a sophomore who is a Freedom Studies minor with the Declaration Center program, and discussed her experience.

"I've talked to students outside of class and found that there's a lot of people that agree with me. They just don't really know. They know they disagree, but they don't fully know why," Purifoy said. "I think that's because of the lack of education."

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Purifoy explained how the Center has helped equip her with additional knowledge to defend her beliefs. 

"I think I'm becoming more educated on what I believe. I grew up conservative, so I knew who to vote for and what my politics were, but I didn't really know why. And I think the Declaration Center has really taught me that and is just a baseline for why America is important."

Fox News Digital's Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.