Teens Know of DiCaprio but Not Rehnquist

Only 41% of American teenagers can name the three branches of government, but 59% can name the Three Stooges, a poll released Wednesday concludes.

And 74% can name the city where cartoon character Bart Simpson lives (Springfield), but only 12% know where Abraham Lincoln lived (Springfield, Ill.), said the National Constitution Center, which is building a museum in Philadelphia designed to make Americans more familiar with the Constitution.

There is some good news: Nearly 74% know that Al Gore is vice president. But that’s well below the 90% who know that Leonardo DiCaprio was the star of the movie “Titanic.”

Too few Americans have even a basic working knowledge of their government, especially the Constitution, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell told a Senate Appropriations Committee panel.

“I believe that building this museum and reversing this tide of ignorance is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy,” said Rendell, chairman of the center.

He is asking Congress to approve funds to help construct the museum.

The center’s study was released in advance of Constitution Week, Sept. 17-23, which will mark the 211th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution.

The nationwide telephone survey of 600 teenagers had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Among other findings:

* Nearly 95% can name the actor who played the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Will Smith) on television, but only 2% can name the chief justice of the United States (William H. Rehnquist).

* Eighty-one percent know that the musical group Hanson is made up of three brothers. Twenty-one percent know how many members are in the Senate (100).

* More than 75% know what city has the ZIP code 90210 (Beverly Hills), but only about 25% know in what city the Constitution was written (Philadelphia).

* About 90% can name the star of the television series “Home Improvement” (Tim Allen), but less than 33% can name the speaker of the House (Newt Gingrich).

* Less than 2% recognize James Madison as the father of the Constitution, but 58% know Bill Gates is the father of Microsoft.