User:Tamwin/Cummings v. Missouri

Cummings v. Missouri,, was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that attempts to require officials to swear that they had not supported the Confederates in the Civil War were unconstitutional as an ex post facto law and bill of attainder.

Background
An amendment to the Missouri Constitution, adopted in 1865, required all voters, state officials, priests, teachers, and corporate officers to swear an oath, known as the Oath of Loyalty. They were required to swear that they had not aided the Confederates in the Civil War, evaded the draft, or engaged in any of a host of other activities deemed disloyal.