Two of the earliest publications of the fledgling North Carolina Council of Civil Defense are Information Circulars 5 and 5A, about the "Loyalty of Personnel." Circular Number 5 lists organizations, foreign and domestic, which the U.S. Attorney General determined to be either totalitarian, fascist, communist, subversive, or "having adopted a policy of advocating or approving the commission of acts of force or violence to deny others their rights under the Constitution of the United States, or as seeking to alter the form of government of the United State by unconstitutional means."
This information (and the requirement for a loyalty oath) originates from Executive Order #9835, "Prescribing Procedures for the Administration of an Employees Loyalty Program in the Executive Branch of the Government," signed by President Harry S. Truman on 21 March 1947. This "Loyalty Order" was the first loyalty program in the United States, intent on locating and removing communists or communist infiltrators from the federal government. For the full text of 9835, you can view it here at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum online.
For North Carolina Civil Defense personnel, they were to sign a statement indicating that they did not advocate, nor were currently, or ever, a member of one of the organizations listed in circular number 5 which advocated the overthrow of the United States government by force or violence.
Notable regarding the loyalty statement, is the closing section titled "Reaction of Applicant."
This requirement should not insult the applicant but should be received in just the opposite manner. All persons who may have been members of the organizations listed, at one time or another, are not in every case Communist or Subversive. Some have been victims of misinformation and bad advice. However, CIVIL DEFENSE must be manned by 100% Americans. Therefore, your strict adherence to this Directive will be appreciated.
Considering that the atmosphere of September 1950, where McCarthyism was just beginning to pick up momentum, with the Korean War having begun only a few months prior, the atmosphere and importance attached by the North Carolina Civil Defense to this loyalty oath is understandable. Of interest is that if you look at the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 166A, "North Carolina Emergency Management Act of 1977," Article 1, Part 166A-13, "Emergency Managment Personnel," you will find the following:
166A‑13. Emergency management personnel.
(a) No person shall be employed or associated in any capacity in any emergency management agency established under this Article if that person:
(1) Advocates or has advocated a change by force or violence in the constitutional form of the Government of the United States or in this State;
(2) Advocates or has advocated the overthrow of any government in the United States by force or violence;
(3) Has been convicted of any subversive act against the United States;
(4) Is under indictment or information charging any subversive act against the United States; or
(5) Has ever been a member of the Communist Party.
Each person who is appointed to serve in any emergency management agency shall, before entering upon his duties, take a written oath before a person authorized to administer oaths in this State, which oath shall be substantially as follows:
"I, _______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter. And I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am I, nor have I ever knowingly been, a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States or of this State by force or violence; and that during such time as I am a member of the State Emergency Management Agency I will not advocate nor become a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States or of this State by force or violence, so help me God."
(b) No position created by or pursuant to this Article shall be deemed an office within the meaning of Article 6, Section 9 of the Constitution of North Carolina. (1951, c. 1016, s. 10; 1975, c. 734, ss. 14, 16; 1977, c. 848, s. 2; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1310, s. 2; 1995, c. 509, s. 129.)
Original September 1950 Written Loyalty Statement
Information Circular Number 5 Listing Organizations Named by U.S. Attorney General
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