I’ve been to two naturalization ceremonies and at each one the new citizens take the oath of allegiance. All the new citizens stand and repeat the oath after the presiding judge. It is an uplifting experience. Interesting fact, the first citizens of the United States (free men to be specific) were required to take an oath of allegiance as well.
I found that one of my ancestors (Richard Tea) was appointed as a commissioner to administer the oath/affirmation of allegiance. There seem to be different versions of the oath that I’ve found. And I believe each state had their own version of the oath, though they would all have been similar. The Wikipedia article on the current oath of allegiance says that parts of it were based on the British Oath of Supremacy, written in the 16th century (though the article does not cite a source on this statement).
There were several versions of the oath. There was even one that officers in the Continental Army took. Here is one form of the oath as printed in The Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) from Tuesday February 2, 1779.
I’ve tried to find Richard Tea’s name in the many lists of those who took the oath of allegiance, but possibly there’s a reason he’s not included in it. If he name is listed as someone who could administer the oath, he had to have taken the oath.
I’ll post more when I find out more.
On Their Shoulders 