Every naturalized citizen takes an oath, and most citizens by birth have never read it. It is the clearest statement we have of what citizenship actually asks: allegiance not to a ruler or a party but to the Constitution and the laws, and a set of real responsibilities, not only rights. A close reading of the promise, and why everyone should know it.

Field Notes on the Republic was written and read by Michael Fowler. It was produced for Quorum (Supply Co.), an American civic purveyor. Music is "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," performed by the U.S. Military Academy Band, West Point.