The Pledge of Allegiance
Written in 1892 by a socialist minister, changed four times, and ruled on by the Supreme Court, the 31-word oath recited by millions of American schoolchildren every day has one of the most complicated histories in American civic life.
"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."
Written by Francis Bellamy · The Youth's Companion, September 8, 1892
“under God” added by Act of Congress, June 14, 1954
Who Wrote It, Francis Bellamy
Francis Bellamy was a Baptist minister from upstate New York who had been forced out of his Boston church in 1891 for preaching socialism from the pulpit, arguing that Jesus was a socialist and that Christianity demanded economic equality. He joined the staff of The Youth's Companion, a popular Boston children's magazine, and was assigned to organize a nationwide school ceremony for the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in America.
He wrote the Pledge in roughly two hours as part of a patriotic program for the celebration. His original draft reportedly included the word “equality,”but he removed it, knowing that Southern states and others would reject a Pledge that implied racial or gender equality. He also considered adding “fraternity”, the third value of the French Revolution's motto, but settled on “liberty and justice.”
The Irony
Bellamy was a committed socialist who believed in economic equality and was suspicious of concentrated wealth. The Pledge he wrote, which has been used ever since as a patriotic ritual, was composed by a man who would likely be considered a radical by modern political standards. He died in 1931, before the phrase "under God" was added; his granddaughter later said he would have strongly opposed the addition as a violation of the separation of church and state.
How the Pledge Changed Over Time
The Pledge has been amended four times since Bellamy wrote it. Each change reflects the political anxieties of its era.
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Written by Francis Bellamy and published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892, for a nationwide schools ceremony marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival. "My Flag" was deliberately vague, Bellamy wanted immigrants to be able to include their homeland flag in their minds.
“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.”
At the First National Flag Conference, veterans' groups pushed to replace "my Flag" with "the Flag of the United States" to ensure immigrants were pledging specifically to America and not to any other nation.
“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.”
A year later, "of America" was added for further specificity. This became the standard version used in schools for the next 30 years.
“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 Flag Day, June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed a law adding "under God" at the urging of the Knights of Columbus and amid Cold War fears of godless communism. A comma was also added after "America." This is the version still in use today.
Word by Word, What It Actually Means
Every phrase was chosen deliberately. Expand each one for the plain-English meaning and the history behind the words.
The Supreme Court & the Pledge
Three landmark cases shaped the legal status of the Pledge , including one of the most celebrated reversals in Supreme Court history, decided just three years after the original ruling.
What This Means Today
No student in America can be legally compelled to recite the Pledge, stand during it, or face any punishment for declining. This right applies in public schools in all 50 states and is settled law since Barnette(1943). The constitutional question of whether “under God” violates the Establishment Clause has never been directly decided by the Supreme Court.