Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Pledge of Allegiance and the Land of Liberty Quilt Block

Land of Liberty Quilt Block
 
Every morning, the elementary school where I teach begins its day with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Small groups of students take turns leading the school in the pledge over the intercom. 
 
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.
 
On September 8, 1892, the weekly children's magazine, The Youth's Companion, published a few words for students to repeat on that year's Columbus Day. Previously, the magazine had asked students to collect money to buy United States flags for their schools.  Enough money was raised to purchase 30,000 flags.
 
The words in The Youth's Companion, written by Francis Bellamy, were reprinted on thousands of leaflets and sent out to public schools across the country. On the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival - October 12, 1892 - more than 12 million children recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  Here are the original words:
 
I pledge allegiance to my Flag
and to the Republic
for which it stands - 
one Nation indivisible
with liberty and justice for all. 
 
In 1912, the pledge was changed to make the meaning of the word "flag" more specific.  People also began to say the pledge with their right hands on their hearts.
 
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America 
 
In 1942, the pledge became part of national law and only the government could change the pledge.  In 1954, the final change to the pledge was made.  Congress voted to add the words "under God" after the word Nation.
 
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.
 
You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.

4 comments:

  1. I remember when the last change was made and the controversy.

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  2. Does any one remember back in the 1930's when the flag salute began with the right hand held to the forehead and then was held with the arm straight up and out? When World War II began, it was very similar to the German salute accompanied by "Heil Hitler". So our salute changed to just keeping the hand to the forehead.

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    Replies
    1. I had never heard of that until I did research for this blog post yesterday. Thanks for sharing!

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