26% of Americans don't know who we declared independence from

On this Independence Day weekend, a new Marist Poll was recently released regarding how many Americans know that we declared our independence from Great Britain. The results were published today and they are somewhat worrying. 74% of Americans know we separated from Great Britain. Another 20% weren't sure while the remaining 6% listed another country, among them the front runners are France, China, Japan, Mexico, and Spain. Seriously?! This as me worried as a future history teacher. First off, Mexico wasn't even a country in the 18th century, it was still under Spanish colonial rule. Secondly, the West didn't have open relations with China and Japan during the colonial era. Thirdly, how could someone be that ignorant? I am really astounded by it. I have my work cut out for me in the future.