A new survey shows large majorities of North Carolinians from both major political parties support the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence. But as the 250th anniversary approaches, there are partisan differences over the nation’s progress toward achieving them.
Catawba College set out to discover how North Carolinians felt about the Declaration’s meaning and relevance today. Survey results show that 80% of Democrats, 86% of Independents and 98% of Republicans believe it’s important to celebrate the founding document.
Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer says that bipartisan consensus went away in response to the next question posed: How close do you think the U.S. is to living up to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
"While a good number of folks thought that we were close, a majority thought we were not close, and that stretched over both folks who identified as Democrats and as independents," he says. "On the flip side, many more Republicans said, yeah, we're close to achieving these ideals."
In the survey, 31 percent of Democrats say the Declaration is "a document that reflects ideals that the country has not fully achieved" compared to 14 percent of Republicans. Bitzer says that results should be viewed in the context of America’s polarized political environment.
YouGov conducted the online survey of 1,000 North Carolinians from June 1-10.