Importance of the First Bill Passed by the 1st U.S. Congress

In Article II (Executive), Section `1, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that before a newly elected president takes office, he must say before witnesses that “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Our Founding Fathers wanted to send the right message to their fellow citizens that the new U.S. central government would follow the newly ratified Constitution. Once convened, the first act passed by the 1st U.S. Congress is known as “An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths.” It is Public Law 1-1 and passed the House on April 27th, 1789, the Senate on May 5th, 1789, and signed into law by President Washington on June 1st, 1789.

Before the bill passed, the Senate added a clause that state governors and legislators must take the same oath. The final bill stipulated that any Senator could administer the oath to the Vice President. In the House of Representatives, any Representative can administer it to the Speaker of the House.

Oaths of office are not new. Most attribute the Romans to be the first to create a standardized oath called the sacrementum militaire. It was taken annually, or when there was a new emperor, and often before each battle. It was a pledge of loyalty to the state that committed each legionnaire to faithfully execute the commands of their officers and never desert or run from the enemy.

When this bill was passed, our Founding Fathers had just fought the British for eight years and four months to gain independence and were intensely loyal to the republic which they just founded. They believed those employed or running the government had to be loyal to the country and its elected government, not a man.

If you were a member of the German Wehrmacht between 1934 and 1945, you would be required to state, “I swear by God this holy oath, that I will render to Adolf Hitler, Führer of the German Reich and People, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, unconditional obedience, and that I am ready, as a brave soldier, to risk my life at any time for this oath.”

When members of the U.S. military are inducted into our Armed Forces, the oath of office is quite different from what the Nazis required one to say. We recite, “I, (your first and last name) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed above me in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, so help me God.”

Today, those taking this oath can change the word “swear” to “affirm” and drop the last phrase, “so help me God.”

Note the difference. In the Nazi oath, the soldiers were swearing allegiance to a man and the country. Members of the U.S. military swear allegiance to an institution – the president, a document – the Constitution, and a body of laws – the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

When one takes that oath, it is a seminal moment in one’s life. When men and women take this oath, we have signed a blank check to the government, payable sometimes in our own blood.

Official U.S. Army photo by Lara Poirrier.