13-087 Pledge of Allegiance II
Thursday Sep 02, 2010
Lead: The so-called Pledge of Allegiance, a salute to the American flag written for school children in 1892, has been modified since and even now is the source of controversy.
Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.
Content: The pledge was first published in a youth magazine. The salute was recited by school children across America on Columbus Day as part of a nationwide celebration of the 400th anniversary of the explorer’s epic first voyage to the New World. The pledge was not at first credited with an author, but in subsequent years Baptist minister and editor Francis Bellamy was determined to have penned this simple and succinct expression of devotion to flag and nation. In 1939 the United States Flag Association reviewed the evidence and declared that Bellamy was indeed the author of the pledge, and in 1957 this was confirmed by the Library of Congress.
There have been two major changes in the pledge--both under political pressure--and one minor change. In 1923 fears due to many new immigrants with questionable national and ideological loyalties led to a change by The National Flag Conference. Strongly supported by the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution, the words “I pledge allegiance to my flag” were changed to “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States." The following year the words “of America” were added.
In the 1940s Congress added the current custom of the right hand over the heart because the previous “stiff-arm” salute, which had been used for generations, resembled the Nazi military salute. In 1943 the Supreme Court reversed a previous decision and ruled that no one could be forced to recite the pledge.
During the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War with its fears of “godless communism,” a campaign was mounted by the Knights of Columbus to insert “under God” following the phrase “one nation” to ensure that America would be seen as God-loving. In 1954 Congress approved the addition, and the bill was signed by President Eisenhower who said, "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty."
The pledge has not been modified in over fifty years but legal challenges continue, particularly against the use of the phrase, “under God.” For some this phrase raises the specter of religious coercion and compromises the separation of church and state.
At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.
Resources
Baer, John. The Pledge of Allegiance, A Revised History and Analysis, 2007. Annapolis: Free State Press, Inc., 2007.
Ellis, Richard J. To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005.
University of Rochester, Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation. “Francis Julius Bellamy Papers” 3 September 2007, http://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/educators/print/lp3-org6.html
Copyright 2010 by Daniel M. Roberts, Jr.
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