Pledge of Allegiance

This article is about the oath spoken to the U.S. flag. For the oath used in U.S. naturalization ceremonies, see Oath of Allegiance (United States). For other uses, see Pledge of Allegiance (disambiguation).

Pledge of Allegiance
(Bellamy versions)
(changes are bolded and underlined)
1892 (first version)[1]
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
1892 to 1923 (early revision by Bellamy)[2]
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
1923 to 1924[3]
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
1924 to 1954[3]
"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."
1954 (current version, per 4 U.S.C. §4)[4]
"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."
Schoolchildren in 1899 reciting the Pledge of Allegiance

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 of America. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools.[5][6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Bellamy's version of the pledge is largely the same as the one formally adopted by Congress 50 years later, in 1942.[10] The official name of The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1945. The most recent alteration of its wording came on Flag Day (June 14) in 1954, when the words "under God" were added.[11]

However, Bellamy's authorship has been contested, as evidence has come out contradicting his claim.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ushistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Jones, Jeffrey Owen. "The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance Archived January 31, 2018, at the Wayback Machine," Smithsonian Magazine, Nov. 2003. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "The Pledge of Allegiance Archived May 16, 2023, at the Wayback Machine," Celebrating America's Freedoms. n.d. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pledge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Kirkpatrick, Melanie. "One Nation, Indivisible". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "Captain and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George T. Balch, Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame Inductee 2001, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps". www.goordnance.army.mil. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Balch, George Thacher (1890). 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. Harvard University. New York : D. Van Nostrand Company.
  8. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian. "The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Schaefer-Jacobs, Debbie (October 23, 2017). "I Pledge Allegiance". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Society & Community. Faith in America: The Legal Dilemma". Now with Bill Moyers. PBS. June 29, 2002. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  11. ^ "The Pledge of Allegiance". WVSD.USCourts.gov. United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Roberts, Sam (April 2, 2022). "We Know the Pledge. Its Author, Maybe Not". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.