The Pledge of Allegiance

The pledge of allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy. He was a Christian Socialist and had been a Baptist Minister.  Although the pledge that we know today was not the first version. A Civil War veteran named Colonel George Balch devised a version that read, “We give our heads and our hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag.”

The Bellamy version of the pledge became popular in public schools across the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There have been several revisions to the pledge over the years and in 1954 the final version came into being. With the support of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Congress passed a new bill that included the words ‘under God’ and the text of the pledge has remained the same ever since.

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

As of 2015, 46 states reportedly require public schools to make time for the pledge. Hawaii, Iowa, Vermont, and Wyoming do not participate in this tradition. However, hundreds of thousands of new US citizens recite the pledge during their US Naturalization Ceremony each year. And, the House of Representatives and The Senate also have a tradition to begin their daily sessions with the pledge of allegiance to The United States.