Editing Pledge of Allegiance

{{Short description|Loyalty oath to the flag and republic of the U.S.}}
{{About|the oath spoken to the U.S. flag|the oath used in U.S. naturalization ceremonies|Oath of Allegiance (United States)|other uses}}
{{Redirect|One nation under God||One Nation Under God (disambiguation){{!}}One Nation Under God}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox
| bodyclass        = border
| headerstyle      = background:#eedfcc;
| abovestyle       = font-size: 100%; background:#cdc0b0;
| above            = Pledge of Allegiance{{pb}}(Bellamy versions){{pb}}(changes are {{strong|<ins>bolded and underlined</ins>}})
| header1          = 1892 (first version)<ref name=ushistory/>
| data2            = "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."<!-- NOTE: This text matches the reference. Vandalism will be reverted back to the original text -->
| header3          = 1892 to 1923 (early revision by Bellamy)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wrote-the-pledge-of-allegiance-93907224/ |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=January 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131235459/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wrote-the-pledge-of-allegiance-93907224/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| data4            = "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and {{strong|<ins>to</ins>}} the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."<!-- NOTE: the word "to" was added one month later, see [[Francis Bellamy]] article. Vandalism will be reverted back to the original text -->
| header5          = 1923 to 1924<ref name="VA">"[https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/pledge.pdf The Pledge of Allegiance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516105614/https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/pledge.pdf |date=May 16, 2023 }}," ''Celebrating America's Freedoms.'' n.d. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved June 14, 2018.</ref>
| data6            = "I pledge allegiance to {{strong|<ins>the</ins>}} Flag {{strong|<ins>of the United States</ins>}} and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."<!-- NOTE: This text matches the reference. Vandalism will be reverted back to the original text -->
| header7          = 1924 to 1954<ref name="VA"/>
| data8            = "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States {{strong|<ins>of America</ins>}} and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."<!-- NOTE: This text matches the reference. Vandalism will be reverted back to the original text -->
| header9          = 1954 (current version, per 4 [[United States Code|U.S.C.]] §4)<ref name="Pledge"/>
| data10           = "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America{{strong|<ins>,</ins>}} and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation {{strong|<ins>under God</ins>}}, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."<!-- NOTE: This text matches the reference. Vandalism will be reverted back to the original text -->
}}
[[File:PledgeOfAllegiance1899.jpg|thumb|Schoolchildren in 1899 reciting the Pledge of Allegiance|upright=1.2]]

The '''Pledge of Allegiance''' is a [[patriotic]] recited verse that promises allegiance to the [[flag of the United States]] and the republic of the United States. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools.<ref>{{Cite news|title = One Nation, Indivisible|url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703735804575536041452086002|newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date = November 1, 2015|issn = 0099-9660|first = Melanie|last = Kirkpatrick|archive-date = December 10, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151210183610/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703735804575536041452086002|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Captain and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George T. Balch, Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame Inductee 2001, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps|url = http://www.goordnance.army.mil/hof/2000/2001/balch.html|website = www.goordnance.army.mil|access-date = November 1, 2015|archive-date = June 6, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120606030638/http://www.goordnance.army.mil/hof/2000/2001/balch.html|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Balch |first=George Thacher |url=http://archive.org/details/methodsteaching00balcgoog |title=Methods of teaching patriotism in the public schools: being an extract from an address delivered before the teachers of the Children's Aid Society of the city of New York |date=1890 |publisher=New York : D. Van Nostrand Company |others=Harvard University}}</ref> In 1892, [[Francis Bellamy]] revised Balch's verse as part of a magazine promotion surrounding the [[World's Columbian Exposition]], which celebrated the 400th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus]]' arrival in the Americas. Bellamy, the circulation manager for ''[[The Youth's Companion]]'' magazine, helped persuade then-president [[Benjamin Harrison]] to institute [[Columbus Day]] as a national holiday and lobbied Congress for a national school celebration of the day. The magazine sent leaflets containing part of Bellamy's Pledge of Allegiance to schools across the country and on October 21, 1892, over 10,000 children recited the verse together.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaefer-Jacobs |first=Debbie |date=October 23, 2017 |title=I Pledge Allegiance |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/i-pledge-allegiance |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=National Museum of American History |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503022002/https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/i-pledge-allegiance |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bellamy's version of the pledge is largely the same as the one formally adopted by [[United States Congress|Congress]] 50 years later, in 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/now/society/religionstats2.html|work=Now with Bill Moyers|title=Society & Community. Faith in America: The Legal Dilemma|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]|date=June 29, 2002|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020350/https://www.pbs.org/now/society/religionstats2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The official name of ''The Pledge of Allegiance'' was adopted in 1945. The most recent alteration of its wording came on [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]] (June 14) in 1954, when the words "under God" were added.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Pledge of Allegiance|url=https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/pledge-allegiance|publisher=[[United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia]]|website=WVSD.USCourts.gov|access-date=June 14, 2021|archive-date=June 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630220518/http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/pledge-allegiance|url-status=dead}}</ref>

However, Bellamy's authorship has been contested, as evidence has come out contradicting his claim.<ref name="Roberts2022">{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Sam |date=April 2, 2022 |title=We Know the Pledge. Its Author, Maybe Not. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/us/pledge-of-allegiance-francis-bellamy.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404070329/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/us/pledge-of-allegiance-francis-bellamy.html |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==Recital==
[[United States Congress|Congressional]] sessions open with the recital of the Pledge, as do many government meetings at local levels, and meetings held by many private organizations. All states except [[Nebraska]], [[Hawaii]], [[Vermont]], and [[Wyoming]] require a regularly scheduled recitation of the pledge in [[Education in the United States#Public and private schools|public schools]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dress |first=Brad |date=April 2, 2022 |title=Here is a breakdown of laws in 47 states that require reciting the Pledge of Allegiance |url=https://thehill.com/news/3256719-47-states-require-the-pledge-of-allegiance-be-recited-in-schools-here-is-a-breakdown-of-each-states-laws/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=The Hill |language=en-US |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607022830/https://thehill.com/news/3256719-47-states-require-the-pledge-of-allegiance-be-recited-in-schools-here-is-a-breakdown-of-each-states-laws/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many states give a variety of exemptions from reciting the pledge, such as California which requires a "patriotic exercise" every day, which would be satisfied by the Pledge, but it is not enforced.<ref name=SFC >{{cite news | url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Many-schools-skip-Pledge-of-Allegiance-4379740.php | title=Many schools skip Pledge of Allegiance | last=Tucker | first=Jill | newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle | date=March 23, 2013 | access-date=September 18, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327030624/https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Many-schools-skip-Pledge-of-Allegiance-4379740.php | archive-date=March 27, 2013 | url-status=dead | quote=California state law doesn't require the recitation in schools, although 45 other states do. But students can't be required to say it or even stand during the pledge, according to a Supreme Court decision. ... California does require every public school to include a "patriotic exercise" every day – which the pledge would fulfill – but it's a vague requirement that's not enforced. }}</ref> The [[Supreme Court (United States)|Supreme Court]] has ruled in ''[[West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette]]'' that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge, nor can they be punished for not doing so.<ref name=Crawford2015/> In several states, [[Flags of the U.S. states|state flag]] pledges of allegiance are required to be recited after the pledge to the American flag.<ref>{{cite web|title=American & State Pledges|work=Speck's Web|date=November 16, 2013|access-date=September 4, 2014|url=http://specksweb.com/pledge/|archive-date=September 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904215907/http://specksweb.com/pledge/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The current [[United States Flag Code]] says:

{{Blockquote|The Pledge of 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 <!-- NOTE: This text matches the reference. Vandalism will be reverted to the original text --> under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," should be rendered 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.<ref>''[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title4/pdf/USCODE-2011-title4-chap1-sec4.pdf U.S. Code 2011, Title 4, Chap. 1, Sec. 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327204547/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title4/pdf/USCODE-2011-title4-chap1-sec4.pdf |date=March 27, 2017 }}.'' Government Printing Office. Retrieved September 22, 2017.</ref> Members of the Armed Forces not in uniform and veterans may render the military salute in the manner provided for persons in uniform.<ref name="Pledge">{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/4|title=Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 4, US Code|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326022406/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/4|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

== Origins ==
Historians point to surges in American patriotic oaths and pledges to the flag after the Civil War, when tensions surrounding political loyalties persisted, and in the 1880s, as rates of immigration increased dramatically.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Why Do We Pledge Allegiance? |url=https://bostonreview.net/articles/jack-david-eller-pledge-allegiance/ |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=Boston Review |language=en-US |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716014315/https://bostonreview.net/articles/jack-david-eller-pledge-allegiance/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eller |first=Jack David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5xjDwAAQBAJ |title=Inventing American Tradition: From the Mayflower to Cinco de Mayo |date=September 15, 2018 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78914-035-4 |language=en |access-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164823/https://books.google.com/books?id=k5xjDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=KEIRLE |first=PHILIP |date=2012 |title=Youth Periodicals, Patriotism, and the Textual Mechanics of Civic Mobilization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23461238 |journal=American Periodicals |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=29–50 |jstor=23461238 |issn=1054-7479 |access-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608211308/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23461238 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Balch pledge ===
[[File:George Thatcher Balch (1828-1894).jpg|thumb|Captain George T. Balch wrote an early pledge of allegiance.]]
[[File:Portrait of Francis Bellamy 01.jpg|thumb|Reverend Francis Bellamy wrote the version that became official.]]
An early pledge was created in 1887 by Captain George T. Balch,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Jehle|first=Dr Paul|date=June 1, 2018|title="Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance – 1954|url=https://plymrock.org/under-god-in-the-pledge-of-allegiance-1954/|access-date=August 22, 2020|website=Plymouth Rock Foundation|language=en-US|archive-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016213348/https://plymrock.org/under-god-in-the-pledge-of-allegiance-1954/|url-status=live}}</ref> a veteran of the Civil War, who later became auditor of the New York Board of Education.<ref>{{Cite web|title=George T. Balch • Cullum's Register • 1496|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1496*.html|access-date=August 22, 2020|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Balch's pledge, which was recited contemporaneously with Bellamy's until the 1923 National Flag Conference, read:<ref name=":0" />

{{Blockquote|We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag!|author=|title=|source=}}

Balch was a proponent of teaching children, especially those of immigrants, loyalty to the United States, even going so far as to write a book on the subject and work with both the government and private organizations to distribute flags to every classroom and school.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Overland Monthly|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=prVUAAAAYAAJ|publisher = Samuel Carson|date = January 1, 1891}}</ref> Balch's pledge, which predates Francis Bellamy's by five years and was embraced by many schools, by the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] until the 1910s, and by the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] until the 1923 National Flag Conference, is often overlooked when discussing the history of the Pledge.<ref name=":1" />

=== Bellamy pledge ===
The pledge that later evolved into the form used today was composed in August 1892 by [[Francis Bellamy]] (1855–1931) for the popular children's magazine ''[[The Youth's Companion]]''. Francis Bellamy, who was a [[Baptist]] minister, a [[Christian socialist]],<ref name="Kubal">{{cite book|last=Kubal|first=Timothy|title=Cultural Movements and Collective Memory: Christopher Columbus and the Rewriting of the National Origin Myth|date=October 2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-61576-2|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire, GBR|doi=10.1057/9780230615762}}</ref><ref name="Mason">{{cite web|title=Grand Lodge of BC and Yukon profile of Bellamy|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/bellamy_f/bellamy_f.html|access-date=October 23, 2013|publisher=Freemasonry.bcy.ca|archive-date=March 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316155710/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/bellamy_f/bellamy_f.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the cousin of [[Edward Bellamy]] (1850–1898), described the text of Balch's pledge as "too juvenile and lacking in dignity."<ref name="Synopsis" /> The Bellamy "Pledge of Allegiance" was first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of ''The Youth's Companion'' as part of the National Public-School Celebration of [[Columbus Day]], a celebration of the 400th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s arrival in the Americas. The event was conceived and promoted by James B. Upham, a marketer for the magazine, as a campaign to instill the idea of [[American nationalism]] in students and to encourage children to raise flags above their schools.<ref name="The Story">Bellamy, Francis, "[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=3418 The Story of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504061201/http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=3418 |date=May 4, 2010 }}," ''University of Rochester Library Bulletin'', Vol. VIII, Winter 1953.</ref> According to author Margarette S. Miller, this campaign was in line both with Upham's patriotic vision as well as with his commercial interest. According to Miller, Upham "would often say to his wife: 'Mary, if I can instill into the minds of our American youth a love for their country and the principles on which it was founded, and create in them an ambition to carry on with the ideals which the early founders wrote into The Constitution, I shall not have lived in vain.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite book|title=I Pledge Allegiance|first=Margarette S.|last=Miller|publisher=Christopher Publishing House, Youth's companion|year=1946}}</ref> In 1957, [[Kenneth Keating]] instigated a report by Congress' [[Legislative Research Service]] that it was Francis Bellamy, and not James B. Upham, who authored the September 8, 1892, article; Keating represented [[New York's 38th congressional district]], which included Bellamy's birthplace, [[Mount Morris, New York|Mount Morris]].<ref name="Roberts2022"/>

Bellamy's original Pledge :
{{Blockquote|I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.<ref name=ushistory>{{cite web|title=The Pledge of Allegiance|url=http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm|work=Historic Documents|publisher=Independence Hall Association: ushistory.org|access-date=29 August 2012|archive-date=September 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927025409/http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Francis Bellamy]] – The word "to" was inserted between "my Flag and" and "the Republic" in October 1892.</ref>}}The Pledge was supposed to be quick and to the point. Bellamy designed it to be recited in 15 seconds. As a socialist, he had initially also considered using the words ''equality'' and ''fraternity''<ref name="The Story" /> but decided against it.

Francis Bellamy and Upham had lined up the [[National Education Association]] to support the ''Youth's Companion'' as a sponsor of the Columbus Day observance and the use in that observance of the American flag. By June 29, 1892, Bellamy and Upham had arranged for Congress and [[Benjamin Harrison|President Benjamin Harrison]] to announce a proclamation making the public school flag ceremony the center of the Columbus Day celebrations. This arrangement was formalized when Harrison issued Presidential Proclamation 335. Subsequently, the Pledge was first used in public schools on October 12, 1892, during Columbus Day observances organized to coincide with the opening of the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] (the Chicago World's Fair), [[Illinois]].<ref>Miller, Margarette S. (1976). ''Twenty Three Words: A Biography of Francis Bellamy: Author of the Pledge of Allegiance''. Portsmouth, Vir.: Printcraft Press. pp. 63–65 {{ISBN|0-686-15626-9}}</ref>

===Francis Bellamy's account===
In his recollection of the creation of the Pledge, Francis Bellamy said, "At the beginning of the nineties patriotism and national feeling was <i>[sic]</i> at a low ebb. The patriotic ardor of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] was an old story&nbsp;... The time was ripe for a reawakening of simple Americanism and the leaders in the new movement rightly felt that patriotic education should begin in the public schools."<ref name="Synopsis">{{cite journal|title=A Brief Synopsis of the Story of the Origin of the Pledge taken from the Detailed Narrative by Francis Bellamy, Author of the Pledge|first=Francis |last=Bellamy |journal=Congressional Record|publisher= Congressional Record 91 Cong. Rec. (1945) House |pages=5510–5511}}</ref> James Upham "felt that a flag should be on every schoolhouse,"<ref name="Synopsis" /> so his publication "fostered a plan of selling flags to schools through the children themselves at cost, which was so successful that 25,000 schools acquired flags in the first year (1892–93).<ref name="Synopsis" />

As the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] was set to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of [[Christopher Columbus]] in the Americas, Upham sought to link the publication's flag drive to the event, "so that every school in the land&nbsp;... would have a flag raising, under the most impressive conditions."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy was placed in charge of this operation and was soon lobbying "not only the superintendents of education in all the States, but [he] also worked with governors, Congressmen, and even the President of the United States."<ref name="Synopsis" /> The publication's efforts paid off when [[Benjamin Harrison]] declared Wednesday, October 12, 1892, to be Columbus Day for which ''[[The Youth's Companion]]'' made "an official program for universal use in all the schools."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy recalled that the event "had to be more than a list of exercises. The ritual must be prepared with simplicity and dignity."<ref name="Synopsis" />

Edna Dean Proctor wrote an ode for the event: "There was also an oration suitable for declamation."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy held that "Of course, the nub of the program was to be the raising of the flag, with a salute to the flag recited by the pupils in unison."<ref name="Synopsis" /> He found "There was not a satisfactory enough form for this salute. The Balch salute, which ran, "I give my heart and my hand to my country, one country, one language, one flag," seemed to him too juvenile and lacking in dignity."<ref name="Synopsis" /> After working on the idea with Upham, Bellamy concluded, "It was my thought that a vow of loyalty or allegiance to the flag should be the dominant idea. I especially stressed the word 'allegiance'. ...&nbsp;Beginning with the new word allegiance, I first decided that 'pledge' was a better school word than 'vow' or 'swear'; and that the first person singular should be used, and that 'my' flag was preferable to 'the.{{'"}}<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy considered the words "country, nation, or Republic," choosing the last as "it distinguished the form of government chosen by the founding fathers and established by the Revolution. The true reason for allegiance to the flag is the Republic for which it stands."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy then reflected on the sayings of Revolutionary and Civil War figures, and concluded, "All that pictured struggle reduced itself to three words, one Nation indivisible."<ref name="Synopsis" />

Bellamy considered the slogan of the [[French Revolution]], {{Lang|fr|[[Liberté, égalité, fraternité]]}} ("liberty, equality, fraternity"), but held that "fraternity was too remote of realization, and … [that] equality was a dubious word."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Concluding "Liberty and justice were surely basic, were undebatable, and were all that any one Nation could handle if they were exercised for all. They involved the spirit of equality and fraternity."<ref name="Synopsis" />

After being reviewed by Upham and other members of ''The Youth's Companion'', the Pledge was approved and put in the official Columbus Day program. Bellamy noted that "in later years the words 'to my flag' were changed to 'to the flag of the United States of America' because of the large number of foreign children in the schools."<ref name="Synopsis" /> Bellamy disliked the change, as "it did injure the rhythmic balance of the original composition."<ref name="Synopsis" />

=== Contested Authorship of the Pledge ===
An alternative theory is that the pledge was submitted to an 1890 patriotic competition in ''The Youth's Companion'' by a 13-year-old Kansas schoolboy, coincidentally named Frank E. Bellamy. A May 1892 newspaper from [[Hays, Kansas]] reported on an April 30 school flag-raising that was accompanied by an almost identical pledge.<ref>{{multiref|{{cite web |title=Pledge of Allegiance (1892). |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96314797/pledge-of-allegiance-1892/ |website=Ellis County News Republican |publisher=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=February 24, 2022 |pages=4 |date=May 21, 1892 |quote=I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands; one nation inseparable with liberty and justice for all. |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224161952/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96314797/pledge-of-allegiance-1892/ |url-status=live }}|{{cite tweet|user=barrypopik|number=1496783059756195841|date=February 24, 2022|title="Pledge of Allegiance" on April 30, 1892?}}}}</ref><ref name="Roberts2022" /> This ceremony would have taken place months before Francis supposedly created the pledge during August of that same year, according to his own testimony.<ref name="Roberts2022" /> The discovery was made by the noted amateur lexicographer [[Barry Popik]], who collaborated with [[Fred Shapiro]], an associate library director at the Yale School of Law.<ref name="Roberts2022" /> Shapiro previously attributed the pledge to Francis Bellamy in ''[[The Yale Book of Quotations]]'', which he edits, but now regards Popik's discovery as favoring Frank E. Bellamy rather than Francis Bellamy as the originator and intends to update future versions of the book to reflect this.<ref name="Roberts2022" />

== Changes ==
[[File:Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Plaque and Pledge to the Flag - Lansing, MI.jpg|thumb|A plaque in Lansing, Michigan, dated 1918, listing the Balch Pledge, which was used parallel to the Bellamy Pledge until the National Flag Conference in 1923]]
In 1906, The Daughters of the American Revolution's magazine, ''The American Monthly'', used the following wording for the pledge of allegiance, based on Balch's Pledge:

{{Blockquote|I pledge allegiance to my flag, and the republic for which it stands. I pledge my head and my heart to God and my country. One country, one language and one flag.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QMgWAAAAYAAJ|publisher = National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.|date = January 1, 1906}}</ref>}}

In subsequent publications of the Daughters of the American Revolution, such as in 1915's "Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution" and 1916's annual "National Report," the previous pledge (adjusted to read "I pledge my head, my hand, my heart..."), listed as official in 1906, is now categorized as "Old Pledge" with Bellamy's version under the heading "New Pledge."<ref>{{Cite book|title = Congressional Serial Set|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RGBUAAAAIAAJ|publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office|date = January 1, 1917}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Proceedings of the ... Continental Congress of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=l2UUAAAAYAAJ|publisher = The Congress.|date = January 1, 1915}}</ref> The "Old Pledge" was still taken in other organizations until the National Flag Conference established uniform flag procedures in 1923.

In 1923, the National Flag Conference called for the words "my Flag" to be changed to "the Flag of the United States," so that foreign-born people would not confuse loyalties between their birth countries and the US.<ref name="our_flag"> {{Citation | last = United States Congressional Joint Committee on Printing | author-link = United States Congressional Joint Committee on Printing | title=Our Flag | date = July 18, 2006 | pages = 45 | publisher = US Government Printing Office | url = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-109sdoc18/pdf/CDOC-109sdoc18.pdf | isbn= 978-0-16-076598-8 }}</ref> The words "of America" were added a year later. Congress officially recognized the Pledge for the first time, in the following form, on June 22, 1942:<ref name="PL_77-623">[[s:Public Law 77-623|Pub.L. 77-623, Chap. 435]], 56 Stat. 377, H.J.Res. 303, enacted June 22, 1942.</ref>

{{Blockquote|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.}}

=== Addition of "under God" ===
{{Redirect|Under God|the book by Toby Mac and Michael Tait|Under God (book)}}
Louis Albert Bowman, an attorney from Illinois, was the first to suggest the addition of "under God" to the pledge. The National Society of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] gave him an Award of Merit as the originator of this idea.<ref name="autogenerated2007">{{cite book |title=The Pledge of Allegiance: A Revised History and Analysis, 1892–2007 |last=Baer |first=John W. |year=2007 |publisher=Free State Press |location=Annapolis, MD }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief |last=Merriman |first=Scott A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_8VFygyaDYC&q=under+god |year=2007
|publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-863-7}} p. 110.</ref> He spent his adult life in the Chicago area and was chaplain of the Illinois Society of the [[Sons of the American Revolution]]. At a meeting on February 12, 1948,<ref name="autogenerated2007" /> he led the society in reciting the pledge with the two words "under God" added. He said that the words came from Lincoln's [[Gettysburg Address]]. Although [[Gettysburg Address#Usage of "under God"|not all manuscript versions of the Gettysburg Address contain the words "under God"]], all the reporters' transcripts of the speech as delivered do, as perhaps Lincoln may have deviated from his prepared text and inserted the phrase when he said "that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom."<ref>In the 18th and 19th centuries, the phrase "under God" indicated secondary thanks or permission. In modern usage, the Gettysburg Address might read "that the nation shall, God willing, have a new birth of freedom." See {{cite journal |last=O'Malley |first=Brian P. |title=Under God: Understanding its Revolutionary Usage |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/07/under-god-understanding-its-revolutionary-usage/ |journal=Journal of the American Revolution |date=July 22, 2019 |access-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723155049/https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/07/under-god-understanding-its-revolutionary-usage/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bowman repeated his revised version of the Pledge at other meetings.<ref name="autogenerated2007" />

During the [[Cold War]] era, many Americans wanted to distinguish the United States from the [[state atheism]] promoted by [[Communist state|communist countries]], a view that led to support for the words "under God" to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.<ref name="Kruse2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/396365659/how-one-nation-didnt-become-under-god-until-the-50s-religious-revival|title=How 'One Nation' Didn't Become 'Under God' Until The '50s Religious Revival|publisher=NPR|first=Kevin M.|last=Kruse|date=March 30, 2015|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308062853/https://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/396365659/how-one-nation-didnt-become-under-god-until-the-50s-religious-revival|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="StoeltingRuth2013">{{cite book |author1=Carrie Beth Stoelting, Stacie Ruth |title=Unite the USA |date=2013 |publisher=[[WestBow Press]] |isbn=9781490813547 |language=en |quote=The introduction of "under God" in the 1950s was done during the Cold War, as a way to differentiate the U.S. from the concept of Communist state atheism.}}</ref>

In 1951, the [[Knights of Columbus]], the world's largest [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[fraternal and service organizations|fraternal service organization]], also began including the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.<ref name="kocsheet">{{cite web |url=http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/communications/pledgeAllegiance.pdf |title=Knights of Columbus Fact Sheet |access-date=June 16, 2011 |publisher=Knights of Columbus |archive-date=June 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623132456/http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/communications/pledgeAllegiance.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In New York City, on April 30, 1951, the board of directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend the text of their Pledge of Allegiance at the opening of each of the meetings of the 800 Fourth Degree Assemblies of the Knights of Columbus by addition of the words "under God" after the words "one nation." Over the next two years, the idea spread throughout Knights of Columbus organizations nationwide. On August 21, 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus at its annual meeting adopted a resolution urging that the change be made universal, and copies of this resolution were sent to the President, the Vice President (as Presiding Officer of the Senate), and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The National Fraternal Congress meeting in Boston on September 24, 1952, adopted a similar resolution upon the recommendation of its president, Supreme Knight [[Luke E. Hart]]. Several State Fraternal Congresses acted likewise almost immediately thereafter. This campaign led to several official attempts to prompt Congress to adopt the Knights of Columbus policy for the entire nation. These attempts were eventually a success.<ref name="kofc.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/communications/pledgeAllegiance.pdf |title=How the words "Under God" came to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag |publisher=Knights of Columbus |access-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910165044/http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/communications/pledgeAllegiance.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the suggestion of a correspondent, Representative [[Louis C. Rabaut]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Michigan|MI]]), sponsored a resolution to add the words "under God" to the Pledge in 1953.<ref>Broadway, Bill. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/07/06/how-under-god-got-in-there/2a0fca85-524e-4063-8a58-4c31db084932/ How 'Under God' Got in There] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210020538/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/07/06/how-under-god-got-in-there/2a0fca85-524e-4063-8a58-4c31db084932/ |date=February 10, 2018 }}," ''The Washington Post,'' July 6, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2018.</ref>
[[File:Georgeandike.jpg|thumb|[[George MacPherson Docherty]] (left) and President Eisenhower (second from left) on the morning of February 7, 1954, at the [[New York Avenue Presbyterian Church]]]]
Before February 1954, no endeavor to get the pledge officially amended had succeeded. The final successful push came from [[George MacPherson Docherty]]. Some American presidents honored Lincoln's birthday by attending services at the church Lincoln attended, [[New York Avenue Presbyterian Church]] by sitting in Lincoln's pew on the Sunday nearest February 12. On February 7, 1954, with [[President Dwight D. Eisenhower]] sitting in Lincoln's pew, Docherty, the church's pastor, delivered a sermon based on the Gettysburg Address entitled "A New Birth of Freedom." He argued that the nation's might lay not in arms but rather in its spirit and higher purpose. He noted that the Pledge's sentiments could be those of any nation: "There was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life." He cited Lincoln's words "under God" as defining words that set the US apart from other nations.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

President Eisenhower had been baptized a [[Presbyterian]] very recently, just a year before. He responded enthusiastically to Docherty in a conversation following the service. Eisenhower acted on his suggestion the next day and on February 8, 1954, Rep. [[Charles Oakman]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]–[[Michigan|MI]]), introduced a bill to that effect. [[83rd United States Congress|Congress]] passed the necessary legislation and Eisenhower signed the bill into law on [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]], June 14, 1954.<ref name="PL_83-396" /> Eisenhower said:

{{Blockquote|From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.... 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 or in war.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/god-in-the-white-house/ |title=God In America: God in the White House |publisher=PBS |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909010013/https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/god-in-the-white-house/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The phrase "under God" was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, by a [[Joint Resolution]] of Congress amending §&nbsp;4 of the [[United States Flag Code|Flag Code]] enacted in 1942.<ref name="PL_83-396">[[s:Public Law 83-396|Pub.L. 83-396, Chap. 297]], 68 Stat. 249, H.J.Res. 243, enacted June 14, 1954.</ref>

On October 6, 1954, the National Executive Committee of the American Legion adopted a resolution, first approved by the Illinois American Legion Convention in August 1954, which formally recognized the Knights of Columbus for having initiated and brought forward the amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance.<ref name="kofc.org" />

== Salute ==
[[Image:Students_pledging_allegiance_to_the_American_flag_with_the_Bellamy_salute.jpg|thumb|left|Children performing the [[Bellamy salute]] to the [[flag of the United States]], 1941]]

Swearing of the Pledge is accompanied by a [[salute]]. An early version of the salute, adopted in 1887, accompanied the Balch pledge and was known as the Balch Salute. This salute instructed students to stand with their right hand outstretched toward the flag, the fingers of which are then brought to the forehead, followed by being placed flat over the heart, and finally falling to the side.

In 1892, Francis Bellamy created what was known as the [[Bellamy salute]] to accompany his own version of the Pledge of Allegiance. It started with the hand outstretched toward the flag, palm down, and ended with the palm up. Many decades later, during [[World War II]], controversy arose because of the similarity between the Bellamy salute and the [[Nazi salute]], which was adopted in Germany in the 1930s (although, unlike the Bellamy salute, this one did not end with the palm up). As a result, the US Congress stipulated that the hand-over-the-heart gesture would instead be rendered by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the [[The Star-Spangled Banner|national anthem]], thereby replacing the Bellamy salute. Removal of the Bellamy salute occurred on December 22, 1942, when Congress amended the Flag Code language first passed into law on June 22, 1942.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leepson |first=Marc |title=Flag: An American Biography |publisher=Macmillan |year=2006 |page=171 |isbn=0-312-32309-3}}</ref> Attached to bills passed in Congress in 2008 and then in 2009 (Section 301(b)(1) of title 36, United States Code), language was included which authorized all active duty military personnel and all veterans in civilian clothes to render a proper hand salute during the raising and lowering of the flag, when the colors are presented, and during the National Anthem.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/rules-for-rendering-hand-salute-of-u.s.-flag |title=Rules for Rendering Hand Salute of U.S. Flag |publisher=Military.com |access-date=September 2, 2014 |archive-date=September 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905201741/http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/rules-for-rendering-hand-salute-of-u.s.-flag |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sarah Churchwell has argued that the term "salute", as it relates to the Bellamy and Balch salutes, historically referred to the words of the pledges themselves, not a physical gesture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/07/25/when-is-a-nazi-salute-not-a-nazi-salute/ |title=When Is a Nazi Salute Not a Nazi Salute? |work=The New York Review of Books |date=July 25, 2020 |access-date=July 25, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807092545/https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/07/25/when-is-a-nazi-salute-not-a-nazi-salute/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{clearleft}}
== Music ==
[[File:Pledge-of-Allegiance-to-the-Flag-by-Irving-Caesar.pdf|alt=Musical setting by Irving Caesar|thumb|Musical setting by [[Irving Caesar]]]]

A musical setting for "The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" was created by [[Irving Caesar]], at the suggestion of Congressman Louis C. Rabaut whose House Resolution 243 to add the phrase "under God" was signed into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCAEAAAAMBAJ&q=original+performance+pledge+of+allegiance+song+by+irving+caesar&pg=PA22|title=Solons to Plug ASCAP Cleffing|date=April 20, 1957|magazine=Billboard|language=en}}</ref>

The composer Irving Caesar wrote and published over 700 songs in his lifetime. Dedicated to social issues, he donated all rights of the musical setting to the U.S. government, so that anyone can perform the piece without owing royalties.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSAEAAAAMBAJ&q=original+performance+pledge+of+allegiance+song+by+irving+caesar&pg=PA12|title='Pledge' Now In Public Domain|date=September 19, 1960|magazine=Billboard|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irvingcaesar.com/|title=Irving Caesar Welcome|website=irvingcaesar.com|access-date=July 2, 2017|archive-date=July 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719135031/https://irvingcaesar.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was sung for the first time on the floor of the House of Representatives on Flag Day, June 14, 1955, by the official Air Force choral group the "Singing Sergeants". A July 29, 1955, House and Senate resolution authorized the U.S. Government Printing Office to print and distribute the song sheet together with a history of the pledge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-69/pdf/STATUTE-69-PgB24-4.pdf|title="Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" H. Con. Res. 161 Statute 69 Pages B24–B25 Concurrent Resolutions – July 26, 1955|access-date=July 2, 2017|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801195422/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-69/pdf/STATUTE-69-PgB24-4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other musical versions of the Pledge have since been copyrighted, including by Beck (2003), Lovrekovich (2002 and 2001), Roton (1991), Fijol (1986), and Girardet (1983).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/|title=U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright search for "The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag"|access-date=July 2, 2017|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919062046/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Controversy ==
{{Main|Criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance}}
In 1940, the [[Supreme Court (United States)|Supreme Court]], in ''[[Minersville School District v. Gobitis]]'', ruled that students in public schools, including the respondents in that case—[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] who considered the flag salute to be [[idolatry]]—could be compelled to swear the Pledge. In 1943, in ''[[West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette]]'', the Supreme Court reversed its decision. Justice [[Robert H. Jackson]], writing for the 6 to 3 majority, went beyond simply ruling in the precise matter presented by the case to say that public school students are not required to say the Pledge on narrow grounds, and asserted that such ideological dogmata are antithetical to the principles of the country, concluding with:

{{Blockquote|If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.<ref>{{cite court |litigants =West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette|vol=319 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=624 |pinpoint=642 |court=U.S. Supreme Court |date=1943}}</ref>}}

In 2004, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit|11th Circuit Court of Appeals]] held that students are also not required to stand for the Pledge.<ref name="SittingIsSpeech">{{cite court |litigants =Holloman ex rel. Holloman v. Harland |vol=370 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1252 |pinpoint= |court=11th Cir. |date=2004 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5852851742040988222 }}</ref>

[[File:JapaneseAmericansChildrenPledgingAllegiance1942-2.jpg|thumb|First graders of Japanese ancestry pledging allegiance to the American flag (1942, photo by [[Dorothea Lange]])]]
Requiring or promoting of the Pledge on the part of the government has continued to draw criticism and legal challenges on several grounds.

One objection is that a constitutional republic built on freedom of [[dissent]] should not require its citizens to pledge allegiance to it, and that the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] protects the right to refrain from speaking or standing, which itself is also a form of speech in the context of the ritual of pledging allegiance.<ref>''Lane v. Owens''; 03-B-1544, United States District Court, District of Colorado</ref><ref name="SittingIsSpeech" /> Another objection is that the people who are most likely to recite the Pledge every day, small children in schools, cannot really give their consent or even completely understand the Pledge they are making.<ref name="NJR">{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Nathan J. |title=I can't believe they still make students recite the Pledge of Allegiance |url=https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2018/06/i-cant-believe-they-still-make-students-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance |access-date=March 8, 2019 |work=[[Current Affairs (magazine)|Current Affairs]] |date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=March 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319145217/https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/06/i-cant-believe-they-still-make-students-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Olander |first=Herbert T.|title=Children's Knowledge of the Flag Salute |journal=The Journal of Educational Research |date=December 1941 |volume=35| pages=300–305|issue=4|jstor=27528245|doi=10.1080/00220671.1941.10881086}}</ref> Another criticism is the belief that a government requiring or promoting the phrase "under God" violates protections against the [[establishment of religion]] guaranteed in the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment]].<ref name="Katu1">{{cite news |url=http://www.katu.com/news/national/87374952.html |agency=Associated Press |date=March 11, 2010 |access-date=March 11, 2010 |title=Court upholds 'under God' in Pledge of Allegiance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316214405/http://www.katu.com/news/national/87374952.html |archive-date=March 16, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/our-humanity-naturally/201205/the-dangerous-fallacy-ceremonial-deism|title=The Dangerous Fallacy of Ceremonial Deism: Governmental religious expressions are not harmless |magazine=Psychology Today|date=May 24, 2012 }}</ref>

In 2004, linguist [[Geoffrey Nunberg]] said the original supporters of the addition thought that they were simply quoting Lincoln's [[Gettysburg Address]], but to Lincoln and his contemporaries, "under God" meant "God willing", so they would have found its use in the Pledge of Allegiance grammatically incorrect and semantically odd.<ref name="LLog1">{{cite web |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001089.html |first=Geoffrey |last=Nunberg |date=June 20, 2004 |access-date=May 3, 2007 |title=I Might Have Guessed Parson Weems Would Figure In There Somewhere |website=[[Language Log]] |author-link=Geoffrey Nunberg |archive-date=April 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426021146/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001089.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Llog2">{{cite web |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001090.html |first=Geoffrey |last=Nunberg |date=June 20, 2004 |access-date=May 3, 2007 |title="(Next) Under God," Phrasal Idiom |website=[[Language Log]] |author-link=Geoffrey Nunberg |archive-date=April 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426025531/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/001090.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In popular culture, the pledge has been mocked or altered by several movies and television series including, but not limited to, [[the Simpsons]]' inscription above the Springfield county courthouse's door of "Liberty and Justice for Most", first appearing in the [[Krusty Gets Busted |twelfth episode of the series]] in 1990.

=== Legal challenges ===
Prominent legal challenges were brought in the 1930s and 1940s by [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], a denomination whose beliefs preclude swearing loyalty to any power other than God, and who objected to policies in public schools requiring students to swear an oath to the flag.<ref>[https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101993016#h=42-47 ''Jehovah's Witnesses-Proclaimers of God's Kingdom'', Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1993, pp. 196–197] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616161314/https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101993016#h=42-47 |date=June 16, 2020 }}.</ref> They said requiring the pledge violated their [[freedom of religion]] guaranteed by the [[Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment]]. The first case was in 1935, when two children, [[Minersville School District v. Gobitis|Lillian and William Gobitis]], ages ten and twelve, were expelled from the [[Minersville, Pennsylvania]], public schools that year for failing to salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Ian |title=The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms |date=2021 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1479801565}}</ref> The issue was finally settled in favor of the Witnesses by the 1943 Supreme Court ruling, ''[[West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette]]''.

In a 2002 case brought by atheist [[Michael Newdow]], whose daughter was being taught the Pledge in school, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals]] ruled the phrase "under God" an unconstitutional endorsement of monotheism when the Pledge was promoted in public school. In 2004, the [[Supreme Court (United States)|Supreme Court]] heard ''[[Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow]]'', an appeal of the ruling, and rejected Newdow's claim on the grounds that he was not the custodial parent, and therefore lacked standing, thus avoiding ruling on the merits of whether the phrase was constitutional in a school-sponsored recitation. On January 3, 2005, a new suit was filed in the [[U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California]] on behalf of three unnamed families. On September 14, 2005, District Court Judge [[Lawrence Karlton]] ruled in their favor. Citing the precedent of the 2002 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Karlton issued an order stating that, upon proper motion, he would enjoin the school district defendants from continuing their practices of leading children in pledging allegiance to "one Nation under God."<ref name=Kraveats2005>{{Citation |url=http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/religion.cfm?ArticleID=2273 |title=Federal judge rules Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional |first=David |last= Kravets |date=September 16, 2005 |access-date = March 31, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060111132924/http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/religion.cfm?ArticleID=2273 |archive-date = January 11, 2006 |newspaper= [[The Chicago Defender]] }}</ref>

In 2006, in the Florida case ''Frazier v. Alexandre'', a federal district court in Florida ruled that a 1942 state law requiring students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance violates the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment (United States)|Fourteenth Amendments]] of the U.S. Constitution.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Frazier v. Alexandre |vol=434 |reporter=F.Supp.2d |opinion=1350 |pinpoint= |court=S.D. Fla. |date=May 31, 2006 |url=http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/Legal%20PDfs/Frazier.pdf }}</ref> As a result of that decision, a Florida school district was ordered to pay $32,500 to a student who chose not to say the pledge and was ridiculed and called "unpatriotic" by a teacher.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolLaw/Issues/StudentRights/RecentCases/FraziervAlexandreNo0581142SDFlaMay312006.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315120026/http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolLaw/Issues/StudentRights/RecentCases/FraziervAlexandreNo0581142SDFlaMay312006.aspx |archive-date=March 15, 2011 |title=Frazier v. Alexandre, No. 05-81142 (S.D. Fla. May 31, 2006) |date=March 15, 2011 |publisher=[[National School Boards Association]]}}</ref>

In 2009, a [[Montgomery County, Maryland]], teacher berated and had school police remove a 13-year-old girl who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom. The student's mother, assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, sought and received an apology from the teacher, as state law and the school's student handbook both prohibit students from being forced to recite the Pledge.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022303889.html |title=Pledge of Allegiance dispute results in Md. teacher having to apologize |last=Johnson |first=Jenna |date=February 24, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 25, 2010 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805063311/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022303889.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On March 11, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in the case of ''Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District''.<ref name="Chea">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j81tOd_mKmXaTFAGfXyGHHUbRloQD9ED0HJO0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315150650/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j81tOd_mKmXaTFAGfXyGHHUbRloQD9ED0HJO0 |archive-date=March 15, 2010|title=Fed. appeals court upholds 'under God' in pledge|last=Chea|first=Terence|date=March 12, 2010|publisher=Associated Press |access-date=March 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants =Newdow vs. Rio Linda Union School District |vol= |reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court=9th Cir. |date =March 12, 2010 |url=http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/03/11/05-17257.pdf}}</ref> In a 2–1 decision, the appellate court ruled that the words were of a "ceremonial and patriotic nature" and did not constitute an establishment of religion.<ref name="Chea" /> Judge [[Stephen Reinhardt]] dissented, writing that "the state-directed, teacher-led daily recitation in public schools of the amended 'under God' version of the Pledge of Allegiance... violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution."<ref name="latimesappellatecourtruling">{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/12/local/la-me-pledge12-2010mar12/2 |title=Pledge of Allegiance's God reference now upheld by court |date=March 12, 2010 |newspaper=LA Times |access-date=January 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116223228/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/12/local/la-me-pledge12-2010mar12/2 |archive-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On November 12, 2010, in a unanimous decision, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]] in Boston affirmed a ruling by a New Hampshire lower federal court which found that the pledge's reference to God does not violate non-pledging students' rights if student participation in the pledge is voluntary.<ref>{{cite court |litigants =Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Hanover School District |court=1st Cir. |opinion= |date=November 12, 2010 |url= http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/09-2473P-01A.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110429035804/http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/09-2473P-01A.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date= April 29, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Court OKs NH law allowing 'God' pledge in schools |first=Denise |last=Lavoie |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/15/court_upholds_nh_law_allowing_pledge_in_school |newspaper=The Boston Globe |publisher=Christopher M. Mayer |location=Boston, MA |date=November 15, 2010 |access-date=November 16, 2010 |quote=The constitutionality of a New Hampshire law... |archive-date=November 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119032620/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/15/court_upholds_nh_law_allowing_pledge_in_school/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[United States Supreme Court]] appeal of this decision was denied on June 13, 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=High court spurns atheist's 'under God' challenge |first=Bob |last=Egelko |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/15/BA261JTO2B.DTL |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Corporation |location=San Francisco, CA |date=June 15, 2011 |quote=A Sacramento atheist's challenge to the addition of "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/10-1214.htm |title=Freedom From Religion Foundation, Petitioner v. United States, et al. |author=Supreme Court of the United States |date=June 13, 2011 |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |access-date=June 15, 2011 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904064031/http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/10-1214.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2013, a case was brought before the [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]], arguing that the pledge violates the Equal Rights Amendment of the [[Constitution of Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/us/massachusetts-pledge-of-allegiance/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |title='Under God' part of Pledge of Allegiance under review in Massachusetts |publisher=CNN.com |date=September 4, 2013 |access-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105145629/http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/us/massachusetts-pledge-of-allegiance/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2014, Massachusetts' highest court ruled that the pledge does not discriminate against [[Atheism in the United States|atheists]], saying that the words "under God" represent a patriotic, not a religious, exercise.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Massachusetts court rules 'under God' in pledge does not discriminate against atheists|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/massachusetts-court-rules-under-god-in-pledge-does-not-discriminate-against-atheists/2014/05/09/62e93ca2-d7b8-11e3-aae8-c2d44bd79778_story.html|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = May 9, 2014|access-date = February 13, 2016|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US|archive-date = April 25, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150425190422/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/massachusetts-court-rules-under-god-in-pledge-does-not-discriminate-against-atheists/2014/05/09/62e93ca2-d7b8-11e3-aae8-c2d44bd79778_story.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

In February 2015 [[New Jersey Superior Court]] Judge [[David F. Bauman]] dismissed a lawsuit, ruling that "… the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the rights of those who don't believe in [[Religion in the United States|God]] and does not have to be removed from the patriotic message."<ref name=Spoto>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/02/under_god_is_not_discriminatory_and_will_stay_in_p.html |title='Under God' is not discriminatory and will stay in pledge, judge says |website=NJ.com |date=February 7, 2015 |access-date=June 12, 2015 |archive-date=June 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613232314/http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/02/under_god_is_not_discriminatory_and_will_stay_in_p.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The case against the [[Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District]] had been brought by a student of the district and the [[American Humanist Association]] that argued that the phrase "under God" in the pledge created a climate of discrimination because it promoted religion, making [[Irreligion|non-believers]] "second-class citizens." In a 21-page decision, Bauman wrote, "Under [the association members'] reasoning, the very constitution under which [the members] seek redress for perceived atheistic marginalization could itself be deemed unconstitutional, an absurd proposition which [association members] do not and cannot advance here."<ref name=Spoto/> Bauman said the student could skip the pledge, but upheld a New Jersey law that says pupils must recite the pledge unless they have "conscientious scruples" that do not allow it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/hearing-under-god-in-pledge-of-allegiance-does-not-violate-rights-of-atheist-students-nj-judge-rules-1.1332137|title=Hearing 'Under God' in Pledge of Allegiance does not violate rights of atheist students, NJ judge rules|first=Salvador|last=Rizzo|website=NorthJersey.com|access-date=February 29, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310061721/http://www.northjersey.com/news/hearing-under-god-in-pledge-of-allegiance-does-not-violate-rights-of-atheist-students-nj-judge-rules-1.1332137|archive-date=March 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maureensullivan/2015/02/07/judge-refuses-to-kick-god-out-of-public-schools/#11e06914435f|title=Judge Refuses To Kick God Out Of Public Schools|date=February 7, 2015|magazine=[[Forbes]]|access-date=February 29, 2016|archive-date=February 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229082828/http://www.forbes.com/sites/maureensullivan/2015/02/07/judge-refuses-to-kick-god-out-of-public-schools/#11e06914435f|url-status=live}}</ref> He noted, "As a matter of historical tradition, the words 'under God' can no more be expunged from the national consciousness than the words '[[In God We Trust]]' from every coin in the land, than the words 'so help me God' from every presidential oath since 1789, or than the prayer that has opened every congressional session of legislative business since 1787."

== See also ==
{{Portal|Law|United States}}
* [[Accommodationism]] and [[separation of church and state]], which provide more information surrounding "under God" in the pledge
* [[Australian citizenship affirmation]], a similar pledge for adults becoming Australian citizens. 
* [[Ceremonial deism]]
* ''[[The Children's Story]]'', a fictional analysis of what the pledge and flag mean for children taught to recite
* [[In God We Trust]], national motto of the United States 
* [[Loyalty oaths in the United States]]
** [[Oath of Allegiance (United States)]]
* [[Youth's Companion Building]], where the Pledge of Allegiance was written and published
* [[Loyalty oath]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs =
<ref name=Crawford2015>{{Citation |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pledge-allegiance-pr-gimmick-patriotic-vow-180956332/ |title=PR Gimmick to Patriotic Vow; Francis Bellamy had no idea how famous, and controversial, his quick ditty would become |first=Amy |last=Crawford |magazine=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |date=September 2015 |access-date=October 14, 2017 |archive-date=October 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014233932/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pledge-allegiance-pr-gimmick-patriotic-vow-180956332/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal|last=Martin|first=Leisa A.|title=Examining the Pledge of Allegiance|journal=Social Studies|date=May–June 2008|volume=99|issue=3|pages=127–131|doi=10.3200/tsss.99.3.127-131|s2cid=144498218}}
* Baer, John W. (2007). ''The Pledge of Allegiance: A Revised History and Analysis, 1892–2007'' (Free State Press, Inc.) {{ISBN|978-0-9650620-2-2}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722050752/http://www.oldtimeislands.org/pledge/pdgech8.htm Excerpt, Chapter Eight: "Under God" and Other Questions About the Pledge.]
* Ellis, Richard J. (2005). ''To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance'' (Lawrence: [[University of Kansas]] Press) {{ISBN|0-7006-1372-2}}
* [[Marc Leepson|Leepson, Marc]] ''Flag: An American Biography'' (2005). ''[https://www.marcleepson.com/books/p/golden-mist-cup-weny8-h4b4a-nkfgk-hlgp7-nptnr-d5rzr-n6t67-ec2gf]'' (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press) {{ISBN|0-312-32308-5}}
* [[Kevin M. Kruse|Kruse, Kevin M.]] (2015). ''One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America'', [[Basic Books]], {{ISBN|0465049494}}.

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|s=Pledge of Allegiance|v=no|b=no|wikt=no}}
* {{UnitedStatesCode|4|4}}
* [https://www.nyapc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Under_God_Sermon.pdf Docherty's Sermon Manuscript, Feb. 7, 1954]
* [http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20020819pledge0819p1.asp Minister Reprises "Under God" Sermon]
* [https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/finding-aids/AB43 Francis Julius Bellamy papers], A.B43, and the [https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/finding-aids/D147 David Bellamy papers], D.147, both located in Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester. The David Bellamy papers are primarily concerned with the controversy surrounding the authorship of the Pledge.

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{{Authority control}}

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