Allegiance

Allegiance is a concept denoting a duty of loyalty or fidelity owed by individuals—whether subjects, citizens, or residents—to a state, governing authority, or monarch. Historically grounded in feudal and monarchical systems, the notion has developed into a broader legal and political principle governing the relationship between people and the political communities to which they belong. It encompasses both the obligation of obedience and loyalty to authority and the reciprocal expectation of protection by that authority.

Etymology

The term allegiance derives from Middle English and Medieval Latin forms related to a liegance. The prefix al- became attached partly through confusion with allegation. The deeper root, liege, originates from Old French meaning “free,” with Germanic origins. A long-standing but erroneous connection between allegiance and the Latin verb ligare (“to bind”) persists in some interpretations, though historically unsupported.

Traditional Usage

English legal commentators historically distinguished between two principal senses of allegiance:

• Local allegiance – the obedience expected from anyone, including foreign nationals, while residing within a country’s territory.
• Natural allegiance – the permanent, inherent allegiance owed by a person to the sovereign or state under whose jurisdiction they were born.

In broader usage the term also referred to one’s national character and the duties arising from that identity.

Allegiance in British Law

For centuries, the English legal doctrine held that allegiance was indelible (nemo potest exuere patriam). Under this view, anyone born under the British Crown—or naturalised by Parliament or royal act—could not renounce their allegiance except by statute or by a recognised political change such as cession of territory or independence.
This principle played a significant role in Anglo-American relations in the early nineteenth century. Britain’s refusal to acknowledge the renunciation of allegiance by naturalised American citizens of British birth contributed to tensions over impressment, which in turn helped provoke the War of 1812. The execution of several Irish-American prisoners as traitors after the Battle of Queenston Heights further highlighted the conflict between British doctrine and American citizenship laws.
Allegiance was conceived as a mutual bond: subjects owed fidelity and obedience, while the Crown owed governance and protection. Judicial statements and landmark cases across centuries elaborated on this reciprocal relationship. The sovereign was regarded in both a personal and political capacity, and fidelity was owed to the office of monarchy as well as to the reigning individual.
Classical English law recognised four categories of allegiance:

1. Natural allegiance (ligeantia naturalis) – acquired by birth within the sovereign’s dominions (excluding children of diplomats, invading forces, or persons born in enemy-occupied territory).
2. Acquired allegiance (ligeantia acquisita) – obtained through naturalisation or denization. Denization, granted typically by royal letters patent or by Parliament, conveyed partial subject status and could be absolute, limited, or conditional.
3. Local allegiance (ligeantia localis) – owed by all friendly aliens present under the Crown’s protection. Even during enemy occupation, residents remained obliged as long as the absence of protection was considered temporary.
4. Legal allegiance – arising when an oath of allegiance was required for holding certain public offices, binding both subjects and aliens.

These categories structured much of British constitutional and colonial legal practice well into the nineteenth century.
The Naturalization Act 1870 marked a pivotal shift by permitting British subjects to renounce their nationality and by defining clear circumstances for the loss of British subject status. It also allowed individuals with dual claims to nationality—such as those born abroad to British parents or born in the United Kingdom under foreign legal jurisdictions—to divest themselves of British nationality through formal declarations.

Allegiance and the British Empire

The doctrine of allegiance underpinned key features of British imperial governance. Emigration to territories deemed “uncivilised” did not sever British nationality, and imperial authorities typically claimed jurisdiction over subjects worldwide. Such principles were frequently invoked in colonial administration and international relations during the expansion of the empire.

Allegiance in the United States

The United States rejected the British doctrine of perpetual allegiance shortly after its founding. As early as 1795, leading American jurists argued that individuals could voluntarily change their political allegiance. Chief Justice John Rutledge, in Talbot v. Janson, affirmed the possibility of enjoying rights of citizenship under more than one government.
The principle was enshrined in federal law with the Expatriation Act of 1868, passed the day before the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Its preamble asserted that the right of expatriation—the right to renounce allegiance—was a natural and inherent right of all people and essential to the enjoyment of liberty. The act formed the basis for the modern American understanding that nationality and allegiance must rest upon consent rather than perpetual obligation.

Broader Contemporary Understanding

While the legal frameworks governing allegiance have modernised, the concept remains central to citizenship law, national identity, and political loyalty. Allegiance continues to play a role in requirements for naturalisation, oaths of office, and constitutional duties, reflecting its enduring significance as a link between individuals and the political communities to which they belong.