Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 25, 1990 TAG: 9006230171
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Short
While 21 percent of 151 preschoolers surveyed at day-care centers in Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver and Los Angeles associated the holiday with fireworks, 18 percent had no idea what Independence Day means.
"Is it when you have Thanksgiving?" asked a 5-year-old in Cincinnati.
"It's somebody's birthday," said a 4-year-old from Denver.
"It means celebrating the presidents, and they're all very special," said an informed 6-year-old in Boston.
Although 74 percent correctly identified the colors of the American flag, they had trouble pinning down who made the first one. Twenty-nine percent though first lady Barbara Bush was the original seamstress. Betsy Ross' role as flag maker was correctly identified by 15 percent. But an equal number attributed the stitches to teen idol Debbie Gibson. Others suggested God and George Washington were the tailors.
If Washington didn't make the flag, then why is he famous? Fifty-one percent said he had something to do with the presidency, and 13 percent knew he was the first president. Others drew their own historical conclusions:
"He was a statue . . . He was a captain who fights the bad guys . . . He's on money . . . He's nice and he's dead."
When asked how old our country is, one child replied: "Oh, hard question. Is it older than six?" Actually, 37 percent thought it is no more than 20 years old, 9 percent less than 100 and 5 percent over 100 years. Only 2 percent said the nation was more than 200 years old.
by CNB