Gov. Earl Warren Opposes University of California Loyalty Oath
California Governor Earl Warren on this day stated his opposition to the loyalty oath imposed by the Regents of the University of California, but he also clearly stated that he did not believe that Communists should be allowed to teach at the University.
The battle over the University of California loyalty oath began in 1949, and over the next year and a half the Board of Regents changed its position and modified the proposed oath several times. See April 21, 1950, for the version of the oath that resulted in the firing of faculty members who refused to sign it (see August 25, 1950).
While the controversy over the university loyalty oath raged, the state of California adopted the Levering Oath, a loyalty oath for all public employees including university employees in the state. Governor Warren supported this oath and signed it into law on October 3, 1950.
Read Warren’s letter: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb487009d7/?brand=oac4
Read: David Gardner, The California Oath Controversy (1967)
Learn more at a timeline on the California loyalty oath controversy: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/loyaltyoath/timeline_test.html