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n— United States
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nnOnnthis day in 1945, U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge ofnAllegiance as an American flag salute. The original pledge wasnwritten by Baptist minister Francis Bellamy half a century before,nfor a public school program. Bellamy apparently never considerednputting in a line about God (the words “under God” were added tonthe pledge in the 1950s), but he did want to include the wordn“equality.” Because Bellamy knew that powerful people who wouldnsee the program were against equality for women and for black people,nhe backed off from his good idea and simply wrote:
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nn“Inpledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands,none nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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| Did you know that in Bellamy’s day (late 1800s and early 1900s), children saluted the flag with a straight, upraised arm? Can you guess why that was changed to another quite different salute? |
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nnInnthe 1920s, the National Flag Conference changed Bellamy’s words “mynFlag” to the phrase “the Flag of the United States of America.” Bellamy disliked the change and protested it. Bellamy’sngranddaughter has said that he would also have resented the additionnof the words “under God.” Apparently he had been pressured into leaving hisnjob of minister because of his socialist ideas; eventually he left thenBaptist church altogether.
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nnSomenpeople want to change the pledge to a version close to Bellamy’snoriginal concept:
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nn“Inpledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which itnstands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty, and justicenfor all.”
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nBy the way, did you know that the Supreme Court ruled that nobody cannrequire others to salute the flag or say the pledge? In 1940, thencourt ruled by an eight to one vote that the government could makenpeople show respect for the flag because it was the central symbolnof national unity. But just three years later, by a six to threenvote, it reversed its ruling, saying that the right to free speechnguaranteed in the First Amendment meant that people did not have tonsalute the flag or say the pledge.
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(These court decisions were in response to children whose familiesnwere Jehovah’s Witness. The kids felt that reciting the pledge wouldngo against the teachings of their religion—but they were expellednfrom school for their refusal to participate. Some school kids todaynwho don’t participate in reciting the pledge say that their refusalnis due to the fact that they do not believe in God, and don’t want tonpledge with the words “under God.”) n
(These court decisions were in response to children whose familiesnwere Jehovah’s Witness. The kids felt that reciting the pledge wouldngo against the teachings of their religion—but they were expellednfrom school for their refusal to participate. Some school kids todaynwho don’t participate in reciting the pledge say that their refusalnis due to the fact that they do not believe in God, and don’t want tonpledge with the words “under God.”) nn
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of chewing gum patent
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nThey’re Always Changing the Map Day
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