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Trump Administration's Loyalty Tests Could Morph Into Broader McCarthyist Loyalty Oaths [1]

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Date: 2025-02-06

From the Civil War, through two World Wars, and the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s cold war, loyalty oaths have been part of America’s political landscape; mainly used as a weapon to ensure compliance (https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/united-states-history-since-1865/loyalty-oaths). Given the Trump administration’s rhetoric and his obsession with loyalty, it will not be surprising if public workers, educators, and organizations and individuals receiving grants from the government, are required to sign loyalty oaths specifically tailored to loyalty to the Trump administration, not to the Constitution.

The Associated Press recently reported that applicants for positions in the Trump administration “are facing a series of intense loyalty tests,” from screening teams committed to making sure new hires are fully committed to the MAGA agenda. These hiring teams are “working aggressively to ensure the government is filled only with loyalists” (https://apnews.com/article/trump-loyalty-white-house-maga-vetting-jobs-768fa5cbcf175652655c86203222f47c).

A loyalty oath is a required pledge of allegiance to a government or organization. It includes a pledge to not support organizations that are considered subversive. With Trump calling his opponents Marxists and mentally ill; labeling those critical of Israel as pro-Hamas terrorists; and claiming that several mainstream news outlets are enemies of the people; one can only imagine what the bar might be for a Trump-enforced loyalty oath.

Loyalty oaths have played a significant, and often contentious, role in American history, reflecting conflict over identity, citizenship, and national security. These oaths have been used throughout American history to gin up support for various oppressive and/or controversial government policies (https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt1-7-9-1/ALDE_00013546/).

The first widespread use of loyalty oaths occurred during the Civil War. With the nation divided, both the Union and the Confederacy demanded loyalty from their citizens, with Union states requiring individuals to swear allegiance to the government of the United States as a condition for holding public office. These loyalty oaths served as a tool to identify and exclude individuals with Confederate sympathies from positions of power or influence. In the post-war era, many Southern states continued to use loyalty oaths as part of the Reconstruction process, requiring former Confederates to swear loyalty to the Union before they could re-enter political life.

Loyalty oaths reemerged during the early 20th century. During World War I, when fear of foreign influence by German-Americans and others perceived as potential traitors, led the U.S. government to adopt loyalty oaths for public employees. This allowed the government to root out perceived disloyalty and to solidify national unity during the war. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1918, for example, required immigrants seeking citizenship to swear allegiance to the United States. It also criminalized speech or actions that might be seen as unpatriotic, broadening the scope of loyalty tests in society.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the rise of totalitarian regimes abroad—especially Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union—deepened fears of subversion within the U.S. The most intense period of loyalty oath enforcement occurred during the Cold War, when the federal government, along with state and local governments, ramped up loyalty tests for public employees, especially in education and government. The fear of Communist infiltration led to the widespread use of loyalty oaths, particularly after the 1947 establishment of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the broader Red Scare, which sought to root out Communist sympathizers in American society (https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/trumans-loyalty-program).

The use of loyalty oaths during the Cold War era became a powerful tool for political and social control. As part of the broader anti-Communist crusade, loyalty oaths were implemented at various levels of government. For example, federal employees were required to sign loyalty oaths affirming they were not members of or sympathetic to the Communist Party. Similarly, teachers, students, and even private-sector employees were subjected to loyalty oaths that required them to renounce any affiliation with subversive groups. During this time, individuals who refused to sign such oaths, whether on political or conscientious grounds, were often branded as unpatriotic or un-American and faced the risk of losing their jobs or social standing.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on several cases involving loyalty oaths. The most significant of these was Keyishian v. Board of Regents(1967), in which the Court ruled that loyalty oaths requiring public employees to swear that they were not members of subversive organizations violated the First Amendment rights of free speech and association. The Court's decision struck a blow to the practice of loyalty oaths, although some forms of loyalty tests continued to be used in certain contexts.

Over the past several years, often due to concerns over individual rights and the recognition that such oaths could be abused as tools of political suppression, the use of loyalty oaths has been in decline. However, the post-9/11 era, for example, saw the expansion of loyalty oaths and security screenings, especially with regard to immigration policies and the scrutiny of Muslim Americans and others from Muslim-majority countries.

Over the course of American history, loyalty oaths have been defended by assorted administrations as necessary to preserve American security. However, quite often they have been used as tools of exclusion -- aligned with periods of ginned up suspicion, scapegoating (often of immigrants) and fear – which can be a prelude to witch-hunts. There is no one better at drumming up fear than the man currently occupying the White House. Given that, it isn’t a stretch to believe that MAGA loyalty oaths are in the works.

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