Which Pledge Works?

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The Pledge of Allegiance

I read an article today about the children in a high school in Colorado reciting the Pledge in Arabic, and replacing “under God” with under Allah. It reminded me of the history of the Pledge, so I thought I’d remind us all.

“The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.

In its original form it read:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In 1923, the words, “the Flag of the United States of America” were added. At this time it 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.”

In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words “under God,” creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy’s daughter objected to this alteration. Today it 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.”

Section 4 of the Flag Code states:

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 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.”

The original Bellamy salute, first described in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, who authored the original Pledge, began with a military salute, and after reciting the words “to the flag,” the arm was extended toward the flag.

At a signal from the Principal the pupils, in ordered ranks, hands to the side, face the Flag. Another signal is given; every pupil gives the flag the military salute — right hand lifted, palm downward, to a line with the forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat together, slowly, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” At the words, “to my Flag,” the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the Flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side. The Youth’s Companion, 1892




Shortly thereafter, the pledge was begun with the right hand over the heart, and after reciting “to the Flag,” the arm was extended toward the Flag, palm-down.

In World War II, the salute too much resembled the Nazi salute, so it was changed to keep the right hand over the heart throughout.”

The original pledge was designed as a Socialist tool, but it was also made to be adaptable to any nation. It may well be that we, as Americans, will have to lay claim to the version, the adaptation of the Pledge we want. As for me and my house, we will cling to our God and our guns and the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America under God. As a Vet, my oath never expired, so that, too, continues to be my oath! It is up to us, the People of this nation to DEFINE the nation we want.

Related reading:

• What’s Conservative about the Pledge of Allegiance?
• Resolution Revolution: Making a Better America by Being a Better Me
• Is America a Democracy or a Republic?

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GOD Bless America, Land that I Love …

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United We Stand; Divided We Fall

“The United States Senators sang it on the steps of the Capitol that fateful day, September 11, 2001, another “day that will live in infamy.” It was sung at the reopening of the stock market the following Monday, and Canadian soprano Celine Dion sang it at the two-hour fundraiser “America: A Tribute to Heroes” on September 21. The song was God Bless America, and on NBC’s Saturday Today show, after mentioning the national anthem and Willie Nelson’s rendition of America the Beautiful, it was reported that Ms. Dion sang “the song that galvanized the American spirit.””
(The American Spirit)
God Bless America “was written during the First World War, for an army camp show where Berlin was stationed: Camp Yaphank on Long Island. The show’s producers rejected it as too jingoistic, so Berlin placed it in a trunk of rejected manuscripts.

There it lay for twenty years, until Ted Collins, manager of popular singer Kate Smith, approached Irving Berlin for a new patriotic song for Kate to introduce to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I.” Continue reading …

In 1938, with the rise of Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish and a first-generation European immigrant, felt it was time to revive it as a “peace song”, and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith, on her radio show. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, “to the right” might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted “through the night” instead. He also provided an introduction that is now rarely heard but which Smith always used: “While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free / Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.” (wikipedia)

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Whilst the last members were signing [the Constitution], Doctor Franklin, looking towards the Presidents chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art, a rising, from a setting, sun. I have, said he, often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now at length, I have the happiness to know, that it is a rising, and not a setting sun. – Dr. Benjamin Franklin, September 17, 1787. What do YOU say? Is the sun rising or setting?

Let that same Spirit rise within each American citizen, a Spirit of gratitude to all who have gone before that helped define AMERICA as our HOME. May our love for our nation, and the Light she represents to other nations, rekindle in us as we regain appreciation for our remaining FREEDOMS and work to restore what has been stolen through our own greed and selfishness. May the Spirit that unites us in times of catastrophe, unite us NOW and in the days to come as we stand together against the tide of mediocrity and sameness that would disarm our individuality ~ the capstone of our FREEDOM! God, let it be so!

“I am an “American”
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold.”

Read further:

God Bless America and Kate Smith

Pledging allegiance to a new flag in ‘Citizen U.S.A.’

We are The American People

What would the Founding Fathers think of US now?

10 America-Themed Songs for the Fourth of July