Constitutional Oaths

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution requires Senators and Representatives, members of state legislatures, and all state and federal executive and judicial officers to swear or affirm fidelity to the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech," and the Supreme Court's litigation over the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act each highlight a fundamental question related to that oath: "What does it mean to be faithful to the Constitution?"