Stars and stripes, Statue of Liberty and national anthem: Three top symbols of U.S.A.

Freedom, financial security and democracy: Top elements of American dream

Young people and African-Americans: Less likely than others to be very proud to be American

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by Humphrey Taylor

Almost all American citizens feel proud to be American and fully, 84% of them feel very proud. An even larger number feel proud (90%) when they hear the national anthem being played.

The stars and stripes, the Statue of Liberty and the national anthem are the three top symbols of the United States. Freedom, financial security and democracy are the top elements representing the American dream.

These are some of the findings of The Harris Poll^®, a nationwide study of how people feel about being American. Harris Interactive^SM interviewed more than 2,000 adults via the Internet between May 23 and 29, 2002, using the same methodology used to forecast the 2000 presidential election with great accuracy.

The main findings include:

• Fully, 84% of American citizens say they are very proud to be American. Almost everyone else (12%) says that they are somewhat proud. Only 2% says they are not very proud. While overwhelming majorities of all segments of the population say they are very proud to be American, this falls to 69% among people aged 18-24 and rises to 97% of people over 65.
  
• African-Americans (68%) are less likely than whites (87%) or Hispanics (83%) to say they are very proud to be Americans.
  
• Nine out of ten American citizens (90%) say they usually feel proud when they hear the "Star Spangled Banner" being played. However, this very high proportion is lower among people aged 18-24 (75%) and among African-Americans (72%).
  
• The American flag (the stars and stripes) (81%), the Statue of Liberty (63%) and the national anthem (the "Star Spangled Banner") (42%) top the list of symbols which people feel stand for or represent America. These three top symbols are followed by the bald eagle (25%), the White House (19%) and the song "God Bless America" (18%). One commercial symbol makes it to the list, albeit with a very low number. Three percent of all adults think that McDonald’s is one of the top three symbols of the United States.
  
• When Americans are asked to choose foods which they think of as typically American, hamburgers and cheeseburgers (29%), apple pie (20%) and hot dogs (13%) top the list. The only other two foods mentioned by significant numbers are barbecue (9%) and fried chicken (7%).
  
• Asked to name the most important element of the American dream, the largest proportion of people mentioned living in freedom (78%), being financially secure (45%), democracy (42%) and owning a home (40%). A substantial number also mentioned getting a decent education (30%), having a good job (23%) and expecting that one’s children will do better than their parents (17%).
  
• If they were forced to choose to be a citizen of another country rather than the United States, most Americans would choose to be citizens of Canada (28%), Australia (23%), or Great Britain (9%). No other country is mentioned by more than three percent.

HOW PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN

"How proud would you say you are to be an American citizen?"

Base: All U.S. adults

FEEL PROUD WHEN HEAR NATIONAL ANTHEM

"When you hear the national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, being played, to you usually feel proud to be an American?"

Base: All U.S. adults

TOP 3 SYMBOLS OF U.S. – THAT REPRESENT AMERICA

"Which of the following do you think of as the top three symbols of the United States – that stand for or represent America to you and the world?"

Base: All U.S. adults

THE TYPICAL AMERICAN FOOD

"Which one of the following foods do you think of as more typically American than others?"

Base: All U.S. adults

WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM?

"Which of the following do you think of as the top three parts of the American dream?"

Base: All U.S. adults

WHICH COUNTRY WOULD YOU CHOOSE IF HAD TO BE CITIZEN OF ANOTHER COUNTRY?

"If you had to choose to be a citizen of another country, which country would you choose?"

Base: All U.S. adults

The Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between May 23^rd and 29^th, 2002, among a nationwide cross section of 2,142 adults (18+). Figures for age, sex, race, education and number of adults in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. "Propensity score" weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

In theory, with a randomly chosen sample of this size and after weighting the data, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled. The sample used by Harris Interactive is not a random or probability sample. While individuals have been randomly sampled from the online database for this survey, they have previously opted in to take part in Harris Poll Online^SM surveys.

There are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. These potential sources of error include question wording and question order, non-response, and screening (e.g. for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors, so the words "margin of error" should be avoided when reporting all survey data.

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