“We give our heads and our hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag.”
This statement was written by Colonel George Balch in 1885 and is generally considered to be when the idea of a "pledge of allegiance" got its start. Schools around the country adopted this pledge for about seven years when an alternative came about.
Francis Bellamy was a devout Christian minister and in 1892, was working for a magazine when he was given the duty to come up with a new flag pledge for the upcoming 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Bellamy's pledge read:
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The Bellamy pledge gained popularity very quickly and replaced the Balch pledge in schools across the United States. However, as you can tell, the Bellamy pledge is a bit different from what we have today.
In 1923/1924, the National Flag Conference changed the wording of the pledge 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."
This pledge, as you can see, is pretty close to the one we have currently. The US Congress adopted the pledge as an official flag pledge in 1942.
The final version came in 1954. Christian religious groups pushed hard to add the words "under God" into the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed and with his support, Congress added those words into the version we have today. The current version reads:
"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."
Now for the controversy. First of all, there were secular groups that thought adding "under God" was not the right thing to do as not everyone in the US is Christian. These challenges have not had success over the years. Another controversial thing was how people saluted the flag when saying the pledge. It was in 1942 when Congress adopted the current practice of holding your right hand over your heart like this:
The original flag salute during the Pledge was much different but one I'm guessing many of you have seen before. Here is the original flag salute during the Pledge:
WHAT??? The Nazi Salute???!!! Are you kidding me?? No, I am not kidding. This was what people did when saying the pledge. Of course, it was changed during WWII because it was seen as being too similar to the Nazi salute(pictured below) who the US was currently fighting in WWII.
I want to end this forum post with the recent law that Iowa passed earlier this year(2021). The law requires all public schools(K-12) to recite the pledge once a day. Now it is important to remember that it is voluntary. No student can be required to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance if they doesn't want to.
So what are your thoughts about the Pledge of Allegiance? Do you think it's a good or bad idea to have the Pledge said every day? Why? Do you think saying the Pledge makes you appreciate, respect, and love your country more than not saying it?
Please share your thoughts and opinions below.
*****Now that you know the orignal flag salute, please do not think you are being funny by doing the Nazi salute when you are saying the pledge in school. That salute is associated with the Nazis and fascists and is seen as racist today by many groups. These high school guys found that out the hard way several years back(link to story):
Replies
I agree with saying the pleage every day. It has a respect that i cant really find words to say for our country. It reminds people even me that we have more freedom then most and that cant be taken way. It also not only reminds us of our freedom but it reminds us that we are all one if most of us dont agree with something we can peacefully protest and change what we think is wrong. That is what the flag reminds me every day I say it and I think people need that reminder that we can always do something togeather because we are one nation.
I think that the pleage is the most inportent thing. you are showing the respect to the country and the amaricans that are in the army right now. I think that it is disrespectful knee and not chossing to do it. I think that we all should stand during the pleage, our hats off,and hands on our hearts.
Yes, I think it is a good idea to take the pledge every day and ask all students to stand up and recite the pledge. In today's society, defending the national flag is considered a bad thing and discriminates against you. but it is not the truth. The flag represents 50 states, and the red on the flag represents the blood shed for this great country to be and remain free.
I think the pledge of allegence is super important to show respect to our country and our troops and I don't think there is any excuse good enough to not do it. and doing makes me feel like im showing my thanks to our war veterans so I love doing the pledge every morning.
My thoughts about the pledge of allegence is good in school but I think people are gonna get bored of it and students are not going to want to do if after so long.But I think we should keep it going and keep supporting our troops as on nation I like how we got it back and make a impact on other schools so they can start doing it.
i think this is a great change that should have been made earlyer than it did I do not belive however that you are less of a amarican because you dont say the plege this country is built apon freedom and freedom goes in to choices like that so that is what i think anyways
I think that saying the pledge everyday is a good thing to do, by saying the pledge it kinda shows that you respect your country and the people who fight for it. I think its a good idea to say it everyday to promote it. Personally i think that im doing good by saying it, it makes me feel like im someway supporting the troops and what the flag really stands for.
Any student replying after this post will be considered late(except for students that were absent yesterday).
Yes I think sayign the plege everyday and making it a requirement for all students to stand and recite the plege is a good idea. In today's societey standing for the flag is seen as a bad thing making you rasist. But that is not true. The flag stands for the 50 states, the red on the flag stands for the blood shed for this great nation to become and stay free.
Saying the pledge of allegiance is important to sufficiently show respect, honor, and importance to those who fought for the United States. I think saying the pledge thus reminds people to show profound respect to the country and properly appreciate what you undoubtedly have. Naturally brings patriotism to the United States.
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