As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a new Gallup survey finds that most Americans believe the nation's founders would be disappointed with the current state of the country.

According to the survey, just 19% of Americans say the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be pleased with how the U.S. has turned out, while 77% believe they would be disappointed.

The findings mark a sharp decline from a quarter-century ago.

In 2001, 42% of Americans said the founders would approve of the nation's trajectory. That figure fell to 29% in 2013 and has now dropped to fewer than 1 in 5 Americans.

The survey found that skepticism about the nation's current condition extends across political and demographic lines, though Republicans were more likely than Democrats to believe the founders would be pleased.

Among Republicans, 25% said the founders would approve of the country today, compared with 21% of independents and 13% of Democrats.

The partisan divide has shifted over time. In 2013, when President Barack Obama was in office, Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to say the founders would be pleased, with 42% of Democrats expressing that view compared with just 12% of Republicans.

However, 69% of respondents said the United States has succeeded in fulfilling its founding principles, with 20% saying "a great deal" and 49% saying "a fair amount."

That figure is lower than in previous eras.

In 1976, during the nation's bicentennial celebration, 77% of Americans said the country had achieved at least a fair amount of success in realizing its founding ideals. The figure reached 84% in 2002 following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Among Republicans, 30% said the nation has succeeded a great deal, compared with 20% of independents and 10% of Democrats.

Just 8% of adults under the age of 34 said the country has succeeded a great deal in fulfilling its founding principles, compared with 23% of those ages 35 to 54 and 24% of those 55 and older.

The Gallup poll was conducted May 1-17 among 1,001 adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.