About The Oldest Law In America
Signed by President George Washington on June 1, 1789 and parts of it remain in effect today
The Oath Act of 1789, an act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, was the first law passed by the United States Congress after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
It was signed by President George Washington on June 1, 1789, and parts of it remain in effect to this day, making it both the first and oldest law in America.
The Oath Act is described as the first legislative act of Congress by the U.S. House Of Representatives Archives. The law is also recognized as the first act of Congress by the U.S. National Archives. It is defined as the Senate's First Act by the United States Senate.
On April 25, 1789 the committee reported its bill to the whole House, which approved it two days later. The Senate committee charged with the bill added a section requiring state officials and legislators to take the same oath as members of Congress.
The Senate approved the bill with the change on May 5th 1789. The House did not object to the Senate's change, and representatives of each body took the bill to President George Washington for his signature on June 1, 1789.
The Oath Act of 1789 was passed during the first session of the newly-formed United States Congress, which was held at Federal Hall in New York City. Federal Hall still exists today as a historic site and museum located in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The current building is a reconstruction of the original Federal Hall, which was completed in 1703 and served as the first capitol building of the United States. The original building was demolished in 1812, and the current building was constructed on the same site in the 1830s.
The current building served as the nation's first customs house, and later as the United States Sub-Treasury. Today, Federal Hall is a National Memorial and a museum that houses exhibits on the history of the building, the early history of the United States, and the role of the federal government in American life.
The Oath Act of 1789 is America's oldest law that established the form of the oath or affirmation that must be taken by all federal officials before assuming office. The law requires that all elected and appointed officials of the federal government take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States.
The oath or affirmation was also required to be taken by all military officers and enlisted personnel, and by anyone who was to give testimony or make a statement under oath in any federal court or hearing.
The act was necessary to establish a standard form of oath that would be taken by all federal officials, as required by the U.S. Constitution. The law has been amended several times since it was first passed, but the basic form of the oath remains unchanged.
The text of the Oath Act of 1789 states:
"I, A.B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States."
For several years after the Civil War, Radical Republicans used the 1862 Test Oath to keep Southern Democrats from returning to Congress.
In 1868, as the Radicals' power began to wane, Congress passed a separate oath for Southern members-elect, but ironically required northerners to continue swearing they had "never voluntarily borne arms against the United States."
Finally, in 1884, Congress repealed the Test Oath, leaving the repatriated Southerners' oath as the one we know today. Today, The Oath Act of 1789, also known as the oldest law in America, is still administered to federal officials during their swearing-in ceremony.