{"id":1228,"date":"2014-06-12T10:46:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T14:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=1228"},"modified":"2024-10-02T15:16:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T19:16:38","slug":"pledge-allegiance-evolved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/pledge-allegiance-evolved\/","title":{"rendered":"How Pledge of Allegiance evolved"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Francis<\/a>
Francis Bellamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most Americans know that Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.<\/a>\u201d Many would be able to cite Irving Berlin as the composer of \u201cGod Bless America.\u201d But few citizens can identify the author of \u201cThe Pledge of Allegiance,\u201d which will be recited often on Flag Day, June 14, and on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

Francis Bellamy wrote the text, although his original version would be changed repeatedly between 1892 and today. An ordained minister who worked for a Boston-based magazine, The Youth\u2019s Companion, he was tasked with creating a school-based program to mark the 400<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> anniversary of the discovery of America.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Children<\/a>
Children give the original Bellamy salute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bellamy\u2019s program included participation by veterans, the reading of a proclamation from President Benjamin Harrison and the raising of the U.S. flag<\/a> to a chorus of \u201cthree cheers for Old Glory!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The program then proceeded to \u201cA Salute to the Flag\u201d during which \u201cevery pupil gives the flag the military salute\u201d and recites Bellamy\u2019s text: \u201cI pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands \u2013 one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Students were instructed that, \u201cat the words \u2018to my flag,\u2019 the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the flag.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pledge of Allegiance would not retain the format Bellamy devised. After a few decades, \u201cmy flag\u201d became \u201cthe flag of the United States of America\u201d lest foreign-born people think they were honoring their own national banner.<\/span><\/p>\n

That notion rankled Bellamy, who pointed out that immigrants knew which flag they were honoring since it was hanging in front of them. In addition, he said, he wanted the pledge to be \u201cas compact a national creed as possible so that children could easily say it as well as understand it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In 1899, school children pledge to the flag, using original hand gestures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for the extension of students\u2019 hands toward the banner, that gesture was eliminated as soon as Americans realized how much it resembled the Nazis\u2019 \u201cHeil, Hitler\u201d salute.<\/span><\/p>\n

The final change came in 1954 as a rebuttal to communism\u2019s atheism. President Eisenhower and others called for the addition of \u201cunder God\u201d to the pledge. In 2004, the Supreme Court upheld that insertion, and it\u2019s now part in the official U.S. Flag Code.<\/span><\/p>\n

Would Bellamy, who died in 1931, have objected to \u201cunder God\u201d? Perhaps not. After all, his 1892 program for schools included, after the pledge, an \u201cacknowledgement of God\u201d through \u201cprayer or scripture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most Americans know that Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.\u201d Many would be able to cite Irving Berlin as the composer of \u201cGod Bless America.\u201d But few citizens can identify the author of \u201cThe Pledge of Allegiance,\u201d which will be recited often on Flag Day, June 14, and on the Fourth… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,77,3,198,112],"class_list":["post-1228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-flag-day","tag-history","tag-the-pledge-of-allegiance","tag-world-war-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Pledge of Allegiance evolved - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Few citizens can identify the author of \u201cThe Pledge of Allegiance,\u201d which will be recited often on Flag Day, June 14, and on the Fourth of July.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/pledge-allegiance-evolved\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Pledge of Allegiance evolved - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most Americans know that Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.\u201d Many would be able to cite Irving Berlin as the composer of \u201cGod Bless America.\u201d But few citizens can identify the author of \u201cThe Pledge of Allegiance,\u201d which will be recited often on Flag Day, June 14, and on the Fourth of July.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/pledge-allegiance-evolved\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-12T14:46:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-02T19:16:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Francis-Bellamy-252x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/pledge-allegiance-evolved\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/pledge-allegiance-evolved\/\",\"name\":\"How Pledge of Allegiance evolved - 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