Americans on the U.S. at 250
Large Majorities Say Government Is Not Fulfilling Founders’ Vision to
Serve the Common Good, Be Guided By the People
Say Elections Not Enough; Support New Ways to Consult We the People
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, nearly two in three (63%) Americans say that if the Founders could see the current U.S. government, they would say it is doing a poor job fulfilling the vision they had, including majorities of Democrats and independents (73% of each), and half of Republicans. These results come from a new national survey by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland, in conjunction with the University’s Civic Innovation Center.
Government Seen as Failing to Serve Common Good Over Special Interests
According to John Adams, “Government is instituted for the common good,” while James Madison said “the supreme object to be pursued” is “the public good, the real welfare of the great body of the people.”
However, just 22% of Americans say the government is “run for the benefit of all the people,”while 78% say it is “run by a few big interests looking out for themselves” (Democrats 87%, Republicans 68%). Six in ten see members of Congress as frequently prioritizing the interests of campaign donors over the good of the country often (33%) or almost always (29%), including 64% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans.
Government Seen as Failing to Fulfill Founders’ Mandate to Be Guided by the People
Thomas Paine wrote that elected leaders “are supposed to… act in the same manner as the whole body would act if they were present.” James Madison stated that, “it is the reason, alone, of the public, that ought to control and regulate government.”
Asked about the amount of influence the people have over their government, six in ten (59%) said it is less than the Founders intended, including 65% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans. Nearly seven in ten (68%) said that members of Congress are guided by the views of their own constituents less than they should be (Democrats 74%, Republicans 64%).
When asked to estimate what percentage of time elected officials make decisions that are the same as what the majority of Americans would make, the mean response was just 41% of the time. Among Democrats, it was 38% and among independents, just 35%. Among Republicans – whose party currently controls all three branches of government – the mean answer was still under half the time (47%). In 2021, when their party was not in control of the branches of government, Republicans estimated an average of just 27% of the time.
Steven Kull, director of PPC, comments, “Americans seem to feel that elected officials are failing to fulfill a social contract that goes back to the Founders, succinctly summarized in Alexander Hamilton’s statement that government should only be controlled by ‘a regard to the public good and the sense of the people.’”
Dissatisfaction With Lack of Efforts to Listen to the People
Two-thirds reject the idea that “Elections have proven to be a fully adequate means for the people to express their views,” in favor of the idea that “Elections alone are not enough. The government should make an active effort in between elections to find out how the people view the issues the government is dealing with.” (Democrats 70%, Republicans 58%, independents 765%)
A very large bipartisan majority of 68% said that members of Congress seek to understand their constituents less than they should (Democrats 72%, Republicans 66%).
Americans Believe There Is More Common Ground Among the People than Congress
An overwhelming bipartisan majority of 88% said that, if Congress were to take into account the views of the people, they would be more likely to find common ground. (Republicans 89%, Democrats 88%). Seventy-one percent rejected the argument that listening to the public “would not help, because the gridlock in Congress is just a reflection of the polarization among the people,” in favor of the idea that listening to the people “would help break the logjam, because the people are less polarized than Congress.” (Democrats 75%, Republicans 71%)
Americans Support Innovative Efforts at Public Consultation
Respondents were briefed on a method of public consultation that involves representative samples of the public, in which people are provided information necessary for them to weigh in on federal policy matters. These can be done online (such as PPC’s public consultation surveys), or through in-person events (such as citizen assemblies).
After evaluating arguments for and against the idea of public consultation and elected leaders being guided by the results, an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 85% were in favor, including 86% of both Republicans and Democrats.
Eight-in-ten (78%) said the Founders would approve of such public consultation (Democrats 78%, Republicans 81%).
MORE INFORMATION
About the Survey
The survey was fielded March 11th through 19th, 2026, with 1,200 adults nationally. Sample was obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control was managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. The sample was pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, region, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The sample was also weighted by partisan affiliation. The survey was offered in both English and Spanish. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, the response rate for the sample was 8.3%, and the maximum weight was 1.9.
About the Program for Public Consultation
The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, develops and conducts public consultation surveys, seeking to improve democratic governance by consulting representative samples of citizens on key public policy issues. It shares its findings with officials in government, the media, other academics, and the general public.
About the Civic Innovation Center
The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy works to strengthen the foundations of civic health. It contributes to important debates about civic education, civic engagement, and needed democratic reforms in the state of Maryland and nationwide, in partnership with other BIG 10 universities. It works to build the connective tissue that brings together students, scholars and practitioners to help elevate the UMD community’s contribution to our wider democracy.
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