It seems that a wide swath of Americans could use a refresher on Civics 101.

Less than half of the 1,000 people recently surveyed by the American Bar Association on civic literacy—49%—correctly named John Roberts as the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Try not to be offended, James Madison, but 18% said the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, your handiwork, are called the Declaration of Independence instead of the Bill of Rights. (6% identified them as the Ten Commandments). And slightly less than three-quarters correctly identified the president as the commander-in-chief of the military.

Taken together, the results reveal “troubling gaps in [the U.S. public's] knowledge of American history and government, as well as constitutional rights,” according to an ABA report released May 1, which is also Law Day. This year's theme is “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society.”

The ABA conducted the survey in February and March, and it consisted of 15 questions drawn from 100 possible questions on the test taken by those seeking to become U.S. citizens. Only 5% of respondents answered all 15 questions correctly. Among the responses:

• 95% correctly identified the U.S. Supreme Court as the nation's highest court. 49% said Roberts is the chief justice; 23% said it is Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and 16% said it's Clarence Thomas.
• Most respondents—78%—correctly said that the term “the rule of law” means that no one is above the law. However, 15% said the term means the law is always right.
• 89% of those surveyed correctly said that “We the People” are the first three words of the U.S. Constitution, and 93% knew that the Senate and House of Representatives are the two chambers of Congress. But only 61% correctly responded that the speaker of the House becomes president in the event that the president and vice president cannot serve.

ABA president Bob Carlson said in an interview that the organization wanted a baseline of Americans' civic literacy in order to gauge how it can best help improve that area of knowledge.

“What programming we can do? What discussions can we have with teachers and the public about what they should be familiar with and aware of?” Carlson said. “We need to have that conversation on the public level that is based on facts and not rumor.”

The ABA also asked respondents about their views on the First Amendment and found widespread support for a free press and free speech. Among those surveyed, 81% said people should be able to publicly criticize government leaders, and 75% said the government should not be able to stop the media from reporting on political protests. Most respondents—80%—agreed that individuals and organizations should have access to government records and information.

But there is significant confusion over what, exactly, the First Amendment protects. Nearly one in five said the First Amendment does not enshrine the freedom of the press, and more than half said it does not protect the right to burn a U.S. flag during a protest.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport, but to participate, you need to know the rules,” Carlson said. “That's too important to leave to chance.”