The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and Christian socialist, for the popular magazine The Youth's Companion. It was created for a national celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage and was meant to be recited by schoolchildren saluting the flag. Bellamy's original ran: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands."

The words changed over time. "My Flag" was replaced in the 1920s with "the Flag of the United States of America" to leave no doubt which flag immigrant children were saluting. Congress officially recognized the Pledge in 1942. Then, in 1954, at the height of the Cold War and a campaign led by religious groups, Congress added the words "under God" to distinguish a faithful America from the officially atheist Soviet Union.

That addition made the Pledge a lasting subject of constitutional dispute. Critics have argued that "under God" violates the separation of church and state, and the question has reached the Supreme Court, though the Court has so far avoided ruling on the merits. The accompanying salute changed too: the original straight-armed "Bellamy salute" was dropped during World War II because it resembled the fascist salute, replaced by the hand over the heart.

The deeper question the Pledge raises is whether anyone can be compelled to say it. In the 1943 case West Virginia v. Barnette, the Supreme Court ruled that students could not be forced to recite the Pledge or salute the flag, holding that the First Amendment protects the right not to speak. A daily ritual of unity thus became, in law, a landmark guarantee of the freedom to dissent.