U.S. adult citizens are most likely to say that obeying U.S. laws, supporting the U.S. Constitution, and believing in the principles of the Declaration of Independence are very important for making someone American, a new YouGov poll of 21 possibly American traits finds. Other factors, such as having generations of American ancestors, being Christian, or being white, are less likely to be named as important.
YouGov compiled a list of 21 traits that some Americans might think make someone American, from being a U.S. citizen to displaying the American flag. Some of the 21 traits were adapted from the oath taken by applicants for U.S. citizenship. Others came from a recent speech given by Vice President JD Vance, in which he expressed his view of "the meaning of American citizenship in the 21st century."
YouGov also asked Americans to choose between these traits in head-to-head matchups. Is believing in the principles of the Declaration of Independence more important than being born in the U.S.? 62% of Americans say it is, while 35% picked being native-born. Americans are more likely to pick growing up in the U.S. over having American parents (54% vs. 20%), and to pick being proud of the U.S. over speaking English (48% vs. 26%). (Respondents were shown a randomly selected set of 21 matchups; each matchup was shown to at least 81 respondents.)
Overall, the results for the head-to-head matchups align closely with how Americans rate each trait's importance. Obeying U.S. laws is the trait most often chosen as more important to being American than other traits, winning 71% of all matchups, followed by supporting the U.S. Constitution (70%), being a U.S. citizen (69%), and believing in the principles of the Declaration of Independence (68%).
You can explore all the matchups in the interactive chart below:
Democrats and Republicans have some notable differences about which traits are important for being American. In head-to-head matchups, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say that supporting the U.S. Constitution, voting in U.S. elections, and living in the U.S. for a long time are important for being American. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say being proud of the U.S., being patriotic, not owing allegiance to any other country, and believing the U.S. is the best country in the world are important for being American.
Despite these differences, Democrats and Republicans largely agree about the most important factors for being American. More than two-thirds of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans picked each of being a U.S. citizen, supporting the U.S. Constitution, obeying U.S. laws, and believing in the principles of the Declaration of Independence as more important than any of the other factors from the list of 21. Vance's argument, in which the Republican vice president criticized "identifying America just with agreeing with the principles… of the Declaration of Independence" as insufficient, and defended the claim to Americanness of "people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War," does not appear to reflect a broader disagreement between Democrats and Republicans.
YouGov also asked Americans which of the 21 traits apply to them. In most cases, Americans are more likely to say that traits they share are important for being American. For example, the 43% of Americans who say they believe the U.S. is the best county in the world choose that trait as more important to being American 54% of the time in head-to-head matchups against other options; those who don't believe the U.S. is the best country choose it just 20% of the time.
Likewise, people who have served in the U.S. military choose that option over alternatives 48% of the time, while those who haven't served choose it only 21% of the time.
About half (48%) of Americans say they are very proud of being American, including 27% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans. Younger adults are less likely than older ones to feel very proud about being American.
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,100 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (da-kuk)
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