The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written in August 1892 by a Socialist Minister, Francis Bellamy (1855-1931) from New York. He originally wrote it to promote Socialism & eventually the rise of Nazism in Europe and the United States. Originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892, Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.
In its original form, it read: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
In 1923, a National Flag Conference, presided over by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, ordained that “my flag” should be changed to “the flag of the United States,” lest immigrant children be unclear just which flag they were saluting. The following year, the Flag Conference refined the phrase further, adding “of America.” In 1942, the pledge’s 50th anniversary, Congress adopted it as part of a national flag code. By then, the salute had already acquired a powerful institutional role, with some state legislatures obligating public school students to recite it each school day.
A decade later, following a lobbying campaign by the Knights of Columbus—a Catholic fraternal organization—and others, Congress approved the addition of the words “under God” within the phrase “one nation, indivisible.” On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law making it the same 31-word “Pledge” we recite today.
Section 4 of the United States Flag Code states: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The Pledge should be observed by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute. ~JGT
Jersey Girl Today 