“A family has asked Massachusetts’ highest court to ban the daily practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, arguing that the words ‘under God’ in the pledge discriminate against atheists”
News of this latest challenge to the legality of the Pledge of Allegiance in our public schools has resulted in some rather arid post on the social networks. As you read through the various comments one can’t help but wonder if any of the writers of these post actually know the history to our Pledge of Allegiance? So here it is…. In a nutshell.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy. It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Although Bellamy is accepted widely as the author of the first pledge, James Upham, an employee of the Boston publishing firm that produced “The Youth’s Companion” has also been credited with penning our first Pledge.
On September 8, 1892 “The Youth’s Companion” published the 22-word recitation for school children to use during planned activities the following month to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America. It was first published under the title “The Pledge to the Flag”, the original form read as the following:
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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Bellamy’s intent was that the pledge could be used in any country by any citizen. After the Columbus Day celebration the Pledge to the Flag became a popular daily routine in America’s public schools. During the National Flag Conference on Flag Day – June 14, 1923, the Pledge received its first revision. The Conference agenda took note of the wording in the Pledge; concern grew with the number of immigrants now living in the United States, that there might be some confusion when the words “My Flag” were recited. To correct this the pledge was altered to read: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The Pledge of Allegiance continued to be recited daily by children in schools across America and gained heightened popularity during World War II. It was on June 22, 1942 when the United States Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36). This was the first Official sanction given to the words that had been recited each day by children for almost fifty years. Congress also established the current practice of reciting the pledge with the right hand over the heart. One year after receiving this official sanction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of their daily routine, “compulsory unification of opinion violates the First Amendment”, this was in response to the Jehovah Witnesses practices regarding idolatry. In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official title – Pledge of Allegiance. The final revision came in 1954, in response to the Communist threat during the Cold War, President Eisenhower urged Congress to add the words “under God,” creating the 31-word pledge we say today. “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” Bellamy’s daughter objected to this alteration. So in a nut shell our Pledge was written by a socialist, written for any citizen of any country, revised the first time due to concerns of early 20th century immigrants, required reciting found to be a violation of the First Amendment, revised again to include “Under God” as a reaction to the Communist Red Scare of the early 1950s. It appears that the revisions over the years have been made in response to a fear of outsiders, a reaction to those less American than ourselves. Perhaps if we just had left well enough alone, preserved the original text we would have all blogged about something else today, in the end there are no shortage of topics. I think this Columbus Day I’ll recite the original text… as is “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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independentthinker101 