Controversy continues over whether the author was the chairman of the committee, Francis Bellamy--who worked in the promotions department of a magazine for young people that published the pledge called the Youth’s Companion --or James Upham, who worked for the publishing firm that produced the magazine. The pledge was published anonymously in the magazine, and was not copyrighted.
According to some accounts of Bellamy as author, he decided to write a pledge of allegiance, rather than a salute, because it was a stronger expression of loyalty--something particularly …show more content…
Written to be a key part of the commemorative ceremonies, it was a pledge to the flag school children would recite in unison.
Along with writing the pledge, Bellamy was also instrumental in successfully lobbying Congress to for a resolution endorsing the children’s ceremony, and helped convince President Benjamin Harrison to issue a proclamation declaring a Columbus Day holiday.
The first pledge read: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
According to the Youth’s Companion, millions of children took part in the 1892 Columbus Day ceremony.
However, no sooner than the pledge took hold in the hearts and minds of Americans, than the words "My flag" we replaced by "the flag of the United States". This was due to the fact that in June of 1923 at the first National Flag Conference held in Washington D.C., the leaders of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution decided that while reciting the pledge, some foreign-born people might have in mind the flag of the country of their birth, rather than of the U.S. flag. A year later, "of America" was added after "United …show more content…
Eisenhower sign it into law.
Originally, the pledge was said with the hand in the so-called "Bellamy Salute", with the hand resting first outward from the chest, the arm extending out from the body. However, once Hitler came into power in Europe, some Americans were concerned that this position of the arm and hand resembled the salute rendered by the Nazi military. In 1942, Congress established the current practice of rendering the pledge with the right hand over the heart.
Today, Section 4 of the Federal Flag Code states that when not in military uniform, men should remove any headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, thereby resting the hand over the heart. People in military uniform should remain silent, face the flag and render the military salute. The Flag Code also specifies that any future changes to the pledge would have to be with the consent of the