The Oath of Allegiance

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Taking the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony 

on the U.S.S. Midway, San Diego, CA. Courtesy of USCIS. 

When you take the Oath of Allegiance at your naturalization ceremony, you make several 

important promises of loyalty to the United States. Loyalty means showing consistent 

support to something or someone. At your naturalization ceremony, you will raise your right 

hand and say the Oath. Afer the Oath, you become a U.S. citizen. As a new citizen, you have 

new responsibilities and duties that you promised in the Oath. 

The complete Oath is below. You can watch You can use the closed captioning while you 

the video of a USCIS Naturalization Oath watch the video or pause the video and listen 

Ceremony here or visit https://www.youtube. to a section at a time. 

com/watch?v=kuvBn8sduGE 

The Oath of Allegiance 

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all 

allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom 

or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; 

...that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of 

America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; 

...that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; 

...that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; 

...that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States 

when required by the law; 
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...that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when 

required by the law; and 

...that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of 

evasion; so help me God.” 

What are the Key Principles? 

The key principles of the Oath of Allegiance mean the main ideas in each section or 

paragraph. You must understand the key principles of each section. The Oath has words 

that may be new to you. With your teacher, review the meanings and pronunciation of 

these words and phrases. 

Key Principles in the Oath of Allegiance 

Here are the key principles you will study in this lesson: 

• I promise to completely give up all loyalty to leaders and governments of other countries 

where I was a subject or citizen before. 

• I promise that I will protect the Constitution and all laws from all enemies, from other 

countries, or from inside the United States. 

• I promise that my loyalty is to the United States only. 

• I promise I will use a weapon if the U.S. government asks me to. 

• I promise to serve in the military performing duties other than combat if the U.S. 

government asks me. 

• I promise to do other non-military work that is important to the country if the U.S. 

government asks me. 

• I promise, before God, all this without influence from anyone or hesitation. 
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The next part breaks the Oath into seven sections. Here are steps to help you learn 

about the Oath: 

1. Listen to each section on the video several times (or listen to your teacher read 

it out loud). 

2. In pairs or a small group, discuss the key principle of that section. 

3. Review the list of New Words/Phrases and their meanings with your teacher. 

4. Practice the pronunciation of the words. 

5. Practice reading the whole section out loud by repeating afer your teacher. 

6. Complete the activity at the end of each section. 
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SECTION 1 

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all 

allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of 

whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; 

Key principle: I promise to completely give up all loyalty to leaders and governments of 

other countries where I was a subject or citizen before. 

WORDS AND PHRASES IN THE OATH 

(to) declare absolutely and entirely 

(to) renounce and abjure 

fidelity 

foreign prince, potentate, state, 

sovereignty 

heretofore 

subject or citizen 

MEANING 

(to) promise or announce something you believe 

completely 

(to) give something up or (to) let go 

loyalty 

a king or queen, a royal person, a ruler of a or 

country 

before now 

person who is controlled by a king or belongs to a 

country 

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY 

Renounce and abjure means to give up something important. A new U.S. citizen must 

renounce all loyalty to any king or queen outside the United States. Why do you think 

this is important? 
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SECTION 2 

...that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United 

States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; 

Key principle: I promise that I will protect the Constitution and all laws from all enemies, 

from other countries, or from inside the United States. 

WORDS IN THE OATH MEANING 

(to) support (to) hold up as important 

(to) defend (to) protect, (to) fight for 

against (to) be opposite 

enemies people who hurt or threaten you 

foreign of another country or nationality 

domestic of your own country 

MATCHING ACTIVITY 

Match each word with its meaning. Do not look at the list above until you are finished. 

1. defend people who hurt or threaten you 

2. foreign hold up as important 

3. against of your own country 

4. support protect, fight for 

5. domestic of another country or nationality 

6. enemies to be opposite 
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SECTION 3 

...that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; 

Key principle: I promise that my loyalty is to the United States only. 

WORDS IN THE OATH 

(to) bear 

true faith and allegiance 

(to) make a promise 

MEANING 

complete belief and loyalty 

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY 

What are some people or things that you show allegiance to? How do you show allegiance? 

Why do you think it is important to show allegiance? 
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SECTION 4 

...that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; 

Key principle: I promise I will use a weapon if the U.S. government asks me to. 

WORDS IN THE OATH 

(to) bear arms 

on behalf of the United States 

required by the law 

MEANING 

(to) carry a gun or weapon 

(to) do it for the United States 

the law says you must do something 

FILL IN THE CHART ACTIVITY 

The U.S. Armed Forces has 7 diferent branches. Visit https://www.defense.gov/Our-Story/ 

Our-Forces . Fill in the branches in the diagram below. 

U.S. Armed Forces 
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SECTION 5 

...that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United 

States when required by the law; 

Key principle: I promise to serve in the military performing duties other than combat if 

the U.S. government asks me. 

(Some examples of noncombatant service are civilian work, such as doing administrative 

duties, cooking for the military, helping in a military hospital, working as a chaplain, etc.) 

WORDS IN THE OATH 

(to) perform 

noncombatant service 

armed forces 

required by the law 

MEANING 

(to) do or (to) act 

do something that does not include fighting in a 

war 

military 

the law says you must do something 

FILL IN THE VERB ACTIVITY 

Here are some things that are required by law. From the word bank, choose the correct verb 

for each phrase. Write the verb in the blank. 

Word Bank 

pay file register obey serve stop 

1. ______________ for a red light 4. ______________ on a jury 

2. ______________ for Selective Service 5. ______________ all laws 

3. ______________ child support 6. _______________ federal income taxes 
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SECTION 6 

...that I will perform work of national importance under civilian 

direction when required by the law; and 

Key principle: I promise to do non-military work that the U.S. government says is important 

to the country. 

(Some examples of this work are health care, taking care of young children or old people, etc.) 

WORDS IN THE OATH MEANING 

(to) perform (to) do something 

national importance something that the country needs 

under civilian direction the oficials tell you to do something; not the 

military 

required by the law the law says you must do something 

Give Examples 

Think about the current events in the United States. Work in pairs or small groups and 

discuss ways that people can help their community and their country, besides serving in the 

military? 

1. ____________________________________________________________________ 

2. ____________________________________________________________________ 

3. ____________________________________________________________________ 

4. ____________________________________________________________________ 
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SECTION 7 

...that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of 

evasion; so help me God.” 

Key principle: I promise, before God, all this without influence from anyone or hesitation. 

WORDS IN THE OATH 

obligation 

freely 

without any mental reservation 

(without) purpose of evasion 

so help me God 

MEANING 

something you must do 

by yourself; without being pushed or required 

no question in your mind; free to think something 

without lying or avoiding 

before God 

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE 

Think about diferent obligations that people have. Finish each sentence. 

Parents have an obligation to ________________________________________________ 

Children have an obligation to ________________________________________________ 

U.S. citizens have an obligation to _____________________________________________ 

I have an obligation to _____________________________________________________ 
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EXTENSION ACTIVITIES 

Vocabulary – Verb Practice 

FILL-IN EXERCISE 

Read the verbs in the Word Bank. Write the correct verb in the blanks for each sentence 

below. 

Hint: Some words may be used twice. 

Word Bank 

perform 

support 

declare 

bear arms 

renounce 

take 

defend 

bear 

Fill in the Blanks 

1. I hereby _________, on oath... 

2. I absolutely and entirely _________________ and abjure all allegiance and fidelity... 

3. I will __________ and _________ the Constitution and laws of the United States... 

4. I will ___________ true faith and allegiance... 

5. I will _____________ _____________ on behalf of the United States... 

6. I will _______________ noncombatant services in the Armed Forces of the United 

States... 

7. I will _______________ work of national importance... 

8. I ______________ this obligation freely... 
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EXTENSION ACTIVITIES 

Why Do You Think? — Responsibilities 

There are many responsibilities of U.S. citizens. Why do you think these responsibilities are 

considered important? Write a sentence about each one and discuss your ideas with the 

class. 

Remember: These are your opinions – there is no right or wrong answer. 

1. Be loyal to the Constitution.

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

2. Obey the laws of the United States.

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

3. Register for the Selective Service.

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

4. Pay federal taxes.

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

5. Serve on a jury. 

____________________________________________________________________ 

6. Vote in elections. 

____________________________________________________________________ 
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EXTENSION ACTIVITY – WRITING PRACTICE 

Why do you want to become a U.S. citizen? What does the Oath of Allegiance mean to you?

 ____________________________________________________________________

 ____________________________________________________________________

 ____________________________________________________________________ 

EXTENSION ACTIVITY – SPEAKING PRACTICE 

Use your cell phone to record yourself reading the Oath of Allegiance out loud. Send the 

recording to your teacher or classmate. 

For more practice, visit Preparing for the Oath, U.S. History and Civics for Citizenship: 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/citizenship/learn/responsibilities/53/learn