 On June 22, 1942 Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance as the national pledge of the United States. As an oath of loyalty to our nation, it is recited daily at schools and in public events across the country.
But where did it come from? And how has it changed over the years? The answers may surprise you…
The original text for the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Baptist minister named Frances Bellamy in 1892. Mr. Bellamy wrote the pledge as part of a tribute in honor of Columbus Day. In October of that year, an estimated 12 million schoolchildren recited the pledge for the first time to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America.
In its original form, the pledge 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 National Flag Conference changed the words my Flag to the Flag of the United States, and only a year later the words of America were added. These changes were made, at least in part, to ensure that the wave of new Americans arriving as immigrants knew with certainty to which flag and which nation they were promising their loyalty.
The final change to the text of the pledge came in 1954 when a campaign originally spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus to add the words under God finally made its way through Congress and was signed into law by President Eisenhower on Flag Day.
The text, as it appears below, has remained unchanged since 1954 despite attempts by many groups to edit the text in support of their moral and political ideologies.
"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."
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