I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

"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."

If you're like one of over 60 million children in the United States, you recite this pledge at the beginning of class every morning. You've probably never really thought about its meaning. You've probably never questioned its purpose. And you probably didn't know that this modest national symbol has been changed numerous times since it was written and is the source of much controversy.

In 1892, socialist Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance for a national family magazine called Youth's Companion. He had first envisioned it as reading, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty, equality, and fraternity for all."

However, Francis knew that many important politicians didn't believe in equal rights for women and African-Americans, so he emitted the word "equality" from the pledge to avoid offending them. The final version published in the magazine was, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

These words were recited until 1924, when the phrase, "the Flag of the United States of America" replaced "my flag" so that it would be clear which flag was being honored. Then came the 1950's. The Korean War and the Cold War were issues of national concern. Many people looked for ways to distinguish God-fearing Americans from supposedly-atheist Russian Communists. The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic Men's Group, sent many resolutions to Congress asking them to add God to the pledge. Finally on June 8, 1954, a Bill was passed, and President Eisenhower signed it into law six days later. The pledge now read, as it still does, "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."

It stood unchallenged until June of 2002, when a federal appeals court ruled that the phrase "under God" is unconstitutional because it endorses religion (the First Amendment bans the government's endorsement of a religion by saying, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof").