In 1867, the United States Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts, and these acts set forth the means by which the former Confederate states could gain readmittance to the union. To elect delegates to the Alabama Constitutional Convention, a male voter, twenty-one years of age or older, had to swear a loyalty oath stating that he had never supported or participated in a rebellion against the United States government, that he had never committed a felony offense, that he had never served as an elected or appointed official of the United States and supported or participated in a rebellion against the United States government, and that he would remain loyal to the government of the United States (Ala. Code, [1867] 83-84). This series consists of bound volumes of the loyalty oaths from each county in the state and from major cities in the state. The oaths contain the voter's name, county of residence, his oath swearing loyalty to the United States government, the voting precinct, and the voter registrar's name.
