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One in Three Americans "Extremely Patriotic"
Politics

One in Three Americans "Extremely Patriotic"

Republicans, conservatives, and seniors most likely to say so

by Lymari Morales

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One in three Americans (32%) now say they are "extremely patriotic," up from 26% in 2005 and 19% in 1999.

Percentage of Americans Who Say They Are "Extremely Patriotic"

These findings are from a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted June 11-13, 2010, Gallup's first update of this question since 2005. The overall percentage of Americans describing themselves as "extremely patriotic" is now measurably higher than at any point in this Gallup trend, including in the months after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The difference between "extremely" and "very" patriotic is left to respondents to interpret.

At least 7 in 10 Americans since 2002 have consistently said they are "extremely" or "very" patriotic; 74% say so this year. This is up slightly since the 1990s.

How Patriotic Are You? Would You Say Extremely Patriotic, Very Patriotic, Somewhat Patriotic, or Not Especially Patriotic?

The increase in the overall percentage of Americans calling themselves "extremely patriotic" is driven largely by seniors, Republicans, and conservatives -- all of whom are significantly more likely to say so than they were in 2005. Republicans' relatively higher identification with the "extremely patriotic" label is particularly intriguing when one considers that Democrats are currently far more likely than Republicans to say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country (41% vs. 7%, respectively). Still, the majority of Americans in each of these subgroups say they are "extremely" or "very" patriotic.

Americans' Patriotism, 2005 vs. 2010, Among Key Subgroups

As the nation celebrates the Fourth of July, some Americans do so with more fervent patriotism than they have in recent years. Self-expressed patriotism runs high across most segments of the population. The widespread willingness to describe oneself as patriotic is particularly noteworthy with the U.S. continuing to face serious economic challenges at home and approval challenges abroad.

See page 2 for complete data by group.

Survey Methods

Results for this USA Today/Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 11-13, 2010, with a random sample of 1,014 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S., selected using random-digit-dial sampling.

For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone-only). Each sample includes a minimum quota of 150 cell phone-only respondents and 850 landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents for gender within region. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, education, region, and phone lines. Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2009 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in continental U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

View methodology, full question results, and trend data.

For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit https://www.gallup.com/.

Americans' Patriotism, Among Key Subgroups


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