These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
43% See George Washington As Greatest Founding Father
Sunday, July 3, 2011
As America prepares to celebrate its 235th birthday, a plurality of adults still sees the nation's first president as its greatest founder.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American adults shows that 43% say George Washington is the greatest founding father of our country, up 11 points from last year . Thomas Jefferson comes in second with 24% who see him has the greatest found father, followed by Benjamin Franklin with 16%.
Just five percent (5%) see both John Adams and James Madison as the greatest founding fathers. (To see survey question wording, click here .)
Washington has been at the top of this list since 2006 .
Data released earlier shows that Americans continue to strongly believe in the nation's founding ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence . While most believe that governments derive their only just authority from the consent of the governed , only 23% believe the federal government today has such consent.
In fact, 45% believe that the gap between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them is now as big as the gap between the American colonies and England during the 18th Century.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 27-28, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
Half of white adults (51%) see Washington as the greatest founding father, but black adults are evenly divided between Jefferson (29%) and Franklin (28%). A plurality of adults of other races (39%) name Jefferson.
Pluralities of Republicans, Democrats and those not affiliated with either party name Washington as the greatest founding father.
Most Americans still believe the U.S. Constitution has a positive impact on American life and think it should be left as is. But a sizable number also feels the document does not put enough restrictions on government.
A plurality of Likely Voters (46%) thinks America's best days are in the past . Thirty-seven percent (37%) feel the country's best days are in the future.