My friend became a citizen yesterday and since her husband was out of town I attended the ceremony as a show of support. It was a very moving experience and I'm glad I went. There were 72 countries represented and 243 people sworn in. The ceremony began with the National Anthem then two speakers discussed what it meant to be a citizen. A couple videos thrown in and we were on to the oath. Have you actually heard or read the oath? I think every citizen should....
Oath of Allegiance for Naturalized Citizens
The oath of allegiance is:
"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; 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."
That's quite a committment.
Ended with the Pledge of Allegiance then a congratulations. Well done Paola!
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Congratulations to your friend! We're very privileged to host a naturalization ceremony for 28 children who will become Americans at our museum this Flag Day, June 14. One of our interns, who is developing a database of educational resources for citizenship students and educators, posted about her work on the project and the upcoming ceremony for us on our O Say Can You See blog. We hope you'll take a look.
Thanks!
Allison Tara Sundaram
National Museum of American History
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