Most Americans are aware that the Fourth of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but far fewer recognize one of the key tenets of that foundational document.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 82% of American Adults know that the Fourth of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but eight percent (8%) think it commemorates the ratification of the U.S. Constitution instead. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

That’s an improvement from last year when only 74% recognized what Independence Day celebrates.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 21-22, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.