The loyalty oath depends on fear for its power. The author contends that people should be possessed by love, not fear.

This interesting and well-written pamphlet comes out of an era of required loyalty oaths, and is thus dated. However, the issue may be perennial; it is about oaths and whether they work to induce real loyalty and love. Of course not. They use fear, which fails to promote trust or truth. Oaths do not work, but they do endanger freedom and good government, and undermine respect for truth and the presumption of innocence, and the habit of truth-telling.
Quakers have refused to swear to the truth because they were always to speak truth, and avoid the Biblical injunction against swearing. Requiring swearing to an oath is a preparation for totalitarianism. For readers interested in this, this pamphlet is a useful exploration. ( )

PHP #94