--- title: "Majorities of Americans say it’s important to talk about the country’s historical successes and failures" description: "Wide majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike view both the positive and negative aspects of the nation’s history as important to focus on." date: "2026-01-26" authors: - name: "Andy Cerda" job_title: "Research Analyst" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/andy-cerda/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/01/26/majorities-of-americans-say-its-important-to-talk-about-the-countrys-historical-successes-and-failures/" categories: - "Education" - "Education & Politics" --- # Majorities of Americans say it’s important to talk about the country’s historical successes and failures ![The Abstract Flag hangs above the entrance to the "Star-Spangled Banner Gallery," inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (Maansi Srivastava/The Washington Post via Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_26.01.26_american-history_feature.jpg?w=640) *The Abstract Flag hangs above the entrance to the "Star-Spangled Banner Gallery," inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (Maansi Srivastava/The Washington Post via Getty Images)* Most Americans say it is important to have public discussions about the country’s historical successes – as well as its failures, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey: ### Majorities in both parties say it’s important to talk about both America’s successes and its failures *% who say it is __ important to have public discussions about the country's historical ...* | Groups | % who say it is __ important to have public discussions about the country's historical ... | Extremely/Very | Somewhat | Not too/Not at all | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | All U.S. adults | Successes and strengths | 66 | 27 | 6 | | | Successes and strengths | | | | | Rep/Lean Rep | Successes and strengths | 68 | 26 | 6 | | Dem/Lean Dem | Successes and strengths | 67 | 26 | 6 | | All U.S. adults | Failures and flaws | 66 | 26 | 7 | | | Failures and flaws | | | | | Rep/Lean Rep | Failures and flaws | 60 | 30 | 10 | | Dem/Lean Dem | Failures and flaws | 75 | 19 | 5 | Note: No answer responses are not shown.Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025. - 66% of U.S. adults say it is extremely or very important to publicly discuss the country’s historical successes and strengths. - 66% say the same about discussing the country’s historical failures and flaws. Wide majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike view both the positive and negative aspects of the nation’s history as important to focus on. But Republicans are less likely than Democrats to say discussions of historical failures and flaws are important. The survey of 10,357 U.S. adults was conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025. It comes as the nation’s 250th anniversary approaches and as Trump administration actions have de-emphasized negative aspects of American history in some [national parks](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/01/22/slavery-exhibit-removed/), [museums](https://apnews.com/article/smithsonian-review-250th-anniversary-2e26f9555bb8d51c7c0f92edede1c866https:/apnews.com/article/smithsonian-review-250th-anniversary-2e26f9555bb8d51c7c0f92edede1c866) and [schools](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-look-at-whats-behind-the-efforts-to-reshape-how-american-history-is-taught). **About this research** This Pew Research Center analysis looks at how important Americans think it is to discuss the positive and negative aspects of the United States’ history publicly. #### Why did we do this? Pew Research Center conducts research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. We have studied Americans’ views of politics and major policy issues for decades. [Learn more about Pew Research Center. ](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) #### How did we do this? We surveyed 10,357 U.S. adults from Nov. 17 to 30, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. Here are the survey [questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_26.01.26_american-history_questionnaire.pdf), the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_26.01.26_american-history_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.10_HealthCare_methodology.pdf). #### Partisans’ views Roughly two-thirds of those in both partisan coalitions say it’s at least very important to publicly talk about the country’s successes and strengths. In contrast, 75% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say it is at least very important to discuss the country’s failures and flaws, compared with 60% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. #### Views among demographic groups Majorities of Americans across several demographic subgroups say it is important to discuss both the nation’s successes and its failures. ### How demographic groups see the importance of discussing America’s successes and failures *% who say it is extremely/very important to have public discussions about the country’s …* | | Historical failures and flaws | Historical failures and flaws | Historical failures and flaws | Historical successes and strengths | Historical successes and strengths | Historical successes and strengths | | Total | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | Total | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | All U.S. adults | 66 | 60 | 75 | 66 | 68 | 67 | White | 68 | 60 | 82 | 69 | 69 | 73 | | Black* | 64 | 56 | 67 | 61 | 54 | 64 | Hispanic | 60 | 61 | 66 | 60 | 69 | 59 | | Asian** | 66 | 51 | 73 | 62 | 59 | 63 | Ages 18-49 | 67 | 62 | 75 | 63 | 65 | 64 | | 50+ | 65 | 58 | 75 | 69 | 70 | 71 | College grad+ | 75 | 63 | 85 | 75 | 74 | 76 | | No college degree | 62 | 59 | 69 | 61 | 65 | 62 | * Black Republicans have a relatively small sample size of 124, for a margin of error of +/- 11.4 percentage points at 95% confidence.** Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025. However, adults ages 50 and older (69%) are slightly more likely than those under 50 (63%) to say it’s important to discuss historical successes and strengths. In addition, adults with a college degree are more likely than those without a degree to view discussing both America’s successes and its failures as important. This pattern largely holds in both partisan coalitions. *Note: Here are the survey [questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_26.01.26_american-history_questionnaire.pdf), the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/SR_26.01.26_american-history_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/SR_25.12.10_HealthCare_methodology.pdf).*