I can relate my experience teaching two classes predominantly populated by freshmen. One is principles of economics, the other a seminar on business and society. In my (subjective) experience, almost no students are familiar with checks and balances, the term lengths of federal officials, or the content of the “First Amendment.” A smaller number are prone to pronounce things they don’t like (e.g., differences in pay for men and women) as “unconstitutional” without any knowledge of the document itself. Few of them have heard of John D. Rockefeller, and almost none have heard of Carnegie or Vanderbilt. Even when they have heard of them, they have no idea what these men did, for good or ill. As someone who went to high school in the late 1970s I find this a continuing source of amazement and discouragement.
I should add that I am referring to college freshmen.