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Oaths 3 – Examples of Good Oaths from Early America

So, where do we find some good examples of a good oath to which civil leaders should swear? The early States.

Magistrates serving in Pennsylvania had to take this oath: “And I, A.B., profess faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ his eternal son, the true God, and in the Holy Spirit, one God blessed for evermore; and do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.” By the way, Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers, like William Penn, who typically reject the concept of the Trinity. One of the qualifications for voting in Carolina was profession of the Christian religion.

The 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution required representatives to swear to the following: “And each member, before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz:

“I do believe in one God, the creator and governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine inspiration.

“And no further or other religious test shall ever hereafter be required of any civil officer or magistrate in this State.”

In New Jersey, religious liberty had to be upheld, and every civil magistrate was required by law to affirm this upon oath to Jesus Christ. Fundamental Constitution for the Province of East New Jersey” (1683). In that same document was stated: “Nor by this article [the religious liberty article] is it intended that any under the notion of liberty shall allow themselves to avow atheism, irreligiousness, or to practice cursing, swearing, drunkenness, profaneness, whoring, adultery, murdering, or any kind of violence, or indulging themselves in stage plays, masks, revels, or such like abuses; …” This governing document of early New Jersey had the most extraneous requirements in addition to upholding religious liberty.

1701 Delaware Charter: “that all Persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World, shall be capable (notwithstanding their other Persuasions and Practices in Point of Conscience and Religion) to serve this Government in any Capacity, both legislatively and executively, he or they solemnly promising, when lawfully required, Allegiance to the King as Sovereign, and Fidelity to the Proprietary and Governor, and taking the Attests as now established by the Law made at Newcastle, in the Year One Thousand and Seven Hundred, entitled, An Act directing the Attests of several Officers and Ministers, as now amended and confirmed this present Assembly.”

1776 Delaware Constitution: “ART. 22. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust, before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, if conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath, to wit:

“***

“I, A B. do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.”

1776 Constitution of Maryland: “XXXV. That no other test or qualification ought to be required, on admission to any office of trust or profit, than such oath of support and fidelity to this State, and such oath of office, as shall be directed by this Convention or the Legislature of this State, and a declaration of a belief in the Christian religion.”

1776 North Carolina Constitution: “XXXII.(5) That no person, who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority either of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.”

1777 Vermont Constitution: “And each member, before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz.

“I ____ do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the scriptures of the old and new testament to be given by divine inspiration, and own and profess the protestant religion.

“And no further or other religious test shall ever, hereafter, be required of any civil officer or magistrate in this State.”

That oath was repeated in the 1786 Vermont Constitution.