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The October
12, 1892
Columbus Day celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of America was planned
for years in advance, and anticipated much as modern Americans look forward to and plan
for the advent of a new century. The United States had recovered from most of the
effects of its Civil War that began 30 years earlier, and people from around the world
were flocking to the "Land of Opportunity". The previous year almost a
half million immigrants had entered the United States through the Barge Office in Battery
Park, New York and on New Years day of 1892 the new Federal Bureau of Receiving's station
at Ellis Island had opened.
Two men interested in both education and planned
Columbus Day celebrations around our Nation's 44 states were Francis Bellamy and James
Upham. To this day it is still unknown which of the two men actually authored the
words that were to become the Pledge of Allegiance. It was published
anonymously and not copyrighted. James Upham was an employee of the Boston
publishing firm that produced "The Youth's Companion" in which it first
appeared. Francis Bellamy was an educator who served as chairman of the National
committee of educators and civic leaders who were planning the Columbus Day
activities. What we do know for certain is that the words first appeared in the
September 8, 1892 issue of "The Youth's Companion", and a month later more than
12 million school children recited the words for the first time in schools across
the nation. Our Pledge of Allegiance was born, but like anything new, it took many
years to "reach maturity", and underwent several changes along the way.
That first Pledge of Allegiance read:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
October 11, 1892 |
After the Columbus Day celebration
the Pledge to the Flag became a popular daily routine in America's public schools, but
gained little attention elsewhere for almost 25 years. Finally, on Flag Day - June
14, 1923, the Pledge received major attention from adults who had gathered for the first
National Flag Conference in Washington, D.C. Here their Conference agenda took note
of the wording in the Pledge. There was concern that, with the number of immigrants
now living in the United States, 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 my the
Flag of the United States,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
June 14, 1923 |
The following year the wording was changed again 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.
June 14, 1924 |
The Pledge of Allegiance continued
to be recited daily by children in schools across America, and gained heightened
popularity among adults during the patriotic fervor created by World War II. It
still was an "unofficial" pledge until 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. 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. In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official
title as:
The Pledge of Allegiance
The last change in the Pledge of Allegiance
occurred on June 14 (Flag Day), 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding
the words "under God". As he authorized this change he said:
"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."
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In 1892, 1923, 1924 and
1954 the American people demonstrated enough concern about the actual words in the Pledge
to make some necessary changes. Today there may be a tendency among many Americans
to recite "by rote" with little thought for the words themselves. Before
continuing with our tour, let's examine these 31 words a little more thoroughly.
| I Pledge Allegiance |
I Promise to be faithful and
true (Promise my loyalty) |
| to the flag |
to the emblem that stands for
and represents |
| of the United States |
all 50 states, each of them
individual, and individually represented on the flag |
| of America |
yet formed into a UNION of one
Nation. |
| and to the Republic |
And I also pledge my loyalty
to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are
sovereign, |
| for which it stands, |
this government also being
represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty. |
| one Nation under God, |
These 50 individual states are
united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful
resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower) |
| Indivisible, |
and can not be separated.
(This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 50 years after
the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that
divisive period in our history) |
| with Liberty |
The people of this Nation
being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness", |
| and Justice |
And each person entitled to be
treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle, |
| for All. |
And these principles afforded
to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria.
Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or
separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided. |
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