Progress Pulse #5: Americans Are Grateful For and Inspired By Progress

In a previous Progress Pulse survey, we found a strong connection between views about past progress and expectations for future progress. Americans who believe life has improved over the last 50 years are far more likely to expect continued progress in the next 50 years.

In this edition, we further explore this critical link between past and future by investigating Americans’ gratitude for historical achievements and how they view past progress as a foundation for future advancement. Do Americans feel grateful for the efforts and accomplishments of previous generations that make life better today? Do they believe stories about past progress provide reason to believe we can solve today’s problems and build a better future? Do they believe studying past progress can help guide future progress? And do the efforts and accomplishments of past generations make them feel inspired to make their own contributions for future generations?

To find out, we commissioned a survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, among a nationally representative sample of over 2,000 U.S. adults.

Overall Findings

Americans are overwhelmingly grateful for past progress and view it as foundational to solving today’s challenges and advancing future progress.

Nearly nine in ten American adults (89%) said they feel grateful for the efforts and accomplishments of past generations that contributed to the quality of life they enjoy today. Similar proportions agree that historical stories about major breakthroughs, triumphs over adversity, and societal advancements give them reason to believe we can overcome today’s biggest challenges, and that studying historical turning points when humanity made significant advances can provide valuable guidance for building a better future. In addition, a majority of Americans (83%) said thinking about the efforts and accomplishments of previous generations inspires them to make contributions that will benefit future generations.

This gratitude for historical progress and beliefs about its foundational role in continued progress are widespread across gender, age, education, income, and political categories. However, we did observe some differences across these groups.

Demographics and Gratitude for Historical Progress

Differences between demographic groups on progress gratitude are generally small. However, adults under 25 are less likely to feel grateful than adults in older age groups.

Gender (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Men: 87%
• Women: 91%

Age (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• 18-24: 75%
• 25-34: 86%
• 35-44: 87%
• 45-54: 92%
• 55-64: 94%
• 65+: 93%

Education (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• High school or less: 87%
• Some college: 87%
• College graduates: 92%

Household Income (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Income less than $50k: 86%
• Income $50k to $74,9k: 89%
• Income $75k to $99,9k: 94%
• Income $100k or more: 88%

Political Party (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Democrats: 93%
• Republicans: 89%
• Independents: 87%

Demographics and Historical Progress as a Reason to Believe in Future Progress

Adults between the ages of 45 and 64 are more likely than adults under 45 to believe that historical stories about major breakthroughs, triumphs over adversity, and societal advancements offer good reason to believe we can solve today’s problems and build a better future. This view of historical progress as a reason to believe in future progress is also positively associated with higher education. Democrats are more likely to hold this view than Republicans.

Gender (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Men: 85%
• Women: 86%

Age (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• 18-24: 81%
• 25-34: 82%
• 35-44: 83%
• 45-54: 90%
• 55-64: 90%
• 65+: 86%

Education (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• High school or less: 82%
• Some college: 85%
• College graduates: 89%

Household Income (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Income less than $50k: 82%
• Income $50k to $74,9k: 87%
• Income $75k to $99,9k: 91%
• Income $100k or more: 86%

Political Party (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Democrats: 92%
• Republicans: 85%
• Independents: 88%

Demographics and Historical Progress as a Guide for Future Progress

Adults under 25 are the least likely to view studying historical turning points, when humanity made significant advances, as providing valuable guidance for building a better future. Americans with some college or a college degree are more likely to view past progress as a guide for future progress than those with a high school diploma or less. Americans with less than $50,000 in household income are less likely to view historical progress as a guide than Americans with higher incomes.

Gender (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Men: 88%
• Women: 89%

Age (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• 18-24: 81%
• 25-34: 87%
• 35-44: 86%
• 45-54: 94%
• 55-64: 93%
• 65+: 90%

Education (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• High school or less: 85%
• Some college: 89%
• College graduates: 91%

Household Income (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Income less than $50k: 84%
• Income $50k to $74,9k: 90%
• Income $75k to $99,9k: 93%
• Income $100k or more: 89%

Political Party (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Democrats: 92%
• Republicans: 88%
• Independents: 88%

Demographics and Inspiration for Progress

Adults under 25 are the least likely to say thinking about the efforts and accomplishments of past generations inspires them to make contributions that will benefit future generations; adults between 45 and 64 are the most likely to feel inspired. Inspiration is also positively associated with formal education.

Gender (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Men: 81%
• Women: 84%

Age (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• 18-24: 76%
• 25-34: 81%
• 35-44: 81%
• 45-54: 88%
• 55-64: 89%
• 65+: 80%

Education (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• High school or less: 78%
• Some college: 83%
• College graduates: 86%

Household Income (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Income less than $50k: 79%
• Income $50k to $74,9k: 82%
• Income $75k to $99,9k: 86%
• Income $100k or more: 83%

Political Party (percent strongly/somewhat agree)

• Democrats: 85%
• Republicans: 83%
• Independents: 82%

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Human Flourishing Lab from March 25-27, 2025, among 2,085 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact croutledge@archbridgeinstitute.org

Respondents were presented with the following prompts:

• I feel grateful when I consider how the efforts and accomplishments of past generations contributed to the quality of life I enjoy today.
• Historical stories about major breakthroughs, triumphs over adversity, and societal advancements give me reason to believe we can overcome today’s greatest challenges to build a better future.
• I believe that studying historical turning points, when humanity made significant advances, can provide valuable guidance for building a better future.
• Thinking about the efforts and accomplishments of past generations that make life better for people today inspires me to make contributions that will benefit future generations.

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, or strongly agree with each prompt.

Progress Pulse

Progress Pulse is a data-driven research project of the Human Flourishing Lab exploring views about progress. We conduct regular surveys of the American people on questions related to human advancement, emerging technologies, and visions of the future.