Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
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E PLURIBUS UNUM —
OUT OF MANY, ONE

HISTORY OF CONGRESS
AND THE CAPITOL

Lawmakers, Loyalty and the "Ironclad Oath"

Senate Loyalty Oath Book

Senate Loyalty Oath Book

 

Senate Loyalty Oath Book

Members of Congress have always taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution. In the years following the Civil War, senators signed an expanded version of the oath to affirm that they had never engaged in disloyal conduct.

Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

 
History of Congress and the Capitol