83 Percent of U.S. Adults Fail Test on Nation's Founding

A disturbing but not surprising report from The American Revolution Center about the lack of knowledge of the founding of the United States.

Some noteworthy findings from the report, titled "The American Revolution. Who Cares? Americans are Yearning to Learn, Failing to Know," include the following:

* Many more Americans remember that Michael Jackson sang "Beat It" than know that the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution.

* 60 percent of Americans can correctly identify the number of children in reality-TV show couple Jon and Kate Gosselin's household (eight), but more than one-third do not know the century in which the American Revolution took place (18th). Half of those surveyed believe the Civil War (1861-1865), Emancipation Proclamation (1863), or War of 1812 occurred before the American Revolution (1775-1783).

* More than 50 percent of Americans surveyed wrongly attributed the quote, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" to George Washington, Thomas Paine, or President Barack Obama, when it is in fact a quote from Karl Marx, author of "The Communist Manifesto."

83 Percent of U.S. Adults Fail Test on Nation's Founding