The October 12, 1892 Columbus Day celebration of the 400th Anniversary
of the discovery of America was planned for years in advance, and anticipated
 much as modern Americans look forward to and plan for the advent of a new century.
The United States had recovered from most of the effects of its Civil War that began
30 years earlier, and people from around the world were flocking to the "Land of Opportunity".
  The previous year almost a half million immigrants had entered the United States through
 the Barge Office in Battery Park, New York and on New Years day of 1892 the
new Federal Bureau of Receiving's station at Ellis Island had opened.

Two men interested in both education and planned Columbus Day celebrations around
our Nation's 44 states were Francis Bellamy and James Upham.
  To this day it is still unknown which of the two men actually authored the words that were
to become the Pledge of Allegiance. It was published anonymously and not copyrighted.
   James Upham was an employee of the Boston publishing firm that produced
 "The Youth's Companion" in which it first appeared.  Francis Bellamy was an educator
who served as  chairman of the National committee of educators and civic leaders
 who were planning the Columbus Day activities.
What we do know for certain is that the words first appeared in the September 8, 1892
issue of "The Youth's Companion", and a month later more than 12 million school children
recited the words for the first time in schools across the nation.  Our Pledge of Allegiance
 was born, but like anything new, it took many years to "reach maturity",
and underwent several changes along the way.

That first Pledge of Allegiance read:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands:
One Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.

          October 11, 1892

After the Columbus Day celebration the Pledge to the Flag became a popular
daily routine in America's public schools,
but gained little attention elsewhere for almost 25 years.

Finally, on Flag Day - June 14, 1923, the Pledge received major attention
from adults who had gathered for the first National Flag Conference in Washington, D.C.
  Here their Conference agenda took note of the wording in the Pledge.
There was concern that, with the number of immigrants now living in the United States,
there might be some confusion when the words "My Flag" were recited.

To correct this the pledge was altered to read:

I pledge allegiance to my the Flag of the United States,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
One Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.

         June 14, 1923

The following year the wording was changed again to read:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
One Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.

June 14, 1924

The Pledge of Allegiance continued to be recited daily by children in schools across America,
and gained heightened popularity among adults during the patriotic fervor created
 by World War II.  It still was an "unofficial" pledge until June 22, 1942 when
the United States Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36).

This was the first Official sanction given to the words that had been recited
each day by children for almost fifty years.
One year after receiving this official sanction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that school children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of their daily routine.

  In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official title as:

The Pledge of Allegiance

The last change in the Pledge of Allegiance occurred on June 14 (Flag Day), 1954 when
President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words "under God".

  As he authorized this change he said:

In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future;
in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's
most powerful resource in peace and war."

This was the last change made to the Pledge of Allegiance.
The 23 words what had been initially penned for a Columbus Day celebration now comprised a
Thirty-one profession of loyalty and devotion to not only a flag, but to a way of life....
the American ideal.

Those words now read:

 

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.

June 14, 1954

In 1892, 1923, 1924 and 1954 the American people demonstrated enough concern about
the actual words in the Pledge to make some necessary changes.
Today there may be a tendency among many Americans to recite "by rote" with
 little thought for the words themselves.  Before continuing with our tour, let's examine
these 31 words a little more thoroughly.

Thus it is that when you Pledge Allegiance
to the United States Flag, You:

I Pledge Allegiance

I Promise to be faithful and true
(Promise my loyalty)

to the flag

To the emblem that stands for and represents

of the United States

All 50 states, each of them
individual, and
individually represented on the flag

of America

Yet formed into a UNION
of one Nation.

and to the Republic

And I also pledge my loyalty to the
Government that is itself a Republic,
a form of government where the
PEOPLE are sovereign,

for which it stands,

This government also being represented by the Flag
 to which I promise loyalty.

one Nation under God,

These 50 individual states are
united as a single
 Republic under the
Divine providence of God,
 "our most powerful resource"
 (according to the words of
President Eisenhower)

Indivisible,

And can not be separated.
(This part of the original
 version of the pledge was written
 just 50 years after the beginning
of the Civil War and demonstrates the
unity sought in the years after that
divisive period in our history)

with Liberty

The people of this Nation being
afforded the freedom to pursue
life, liberty, and happiness",
 

and Justice

And each person entitled to
be treated justly, fairly, and
 according to proper
law and principle,

for All.

And these principles afforded
to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless
of race, religion, color, creed,
 or any other criteria.
Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be
 divided or separated,
 this Nation represents millions
 of people who can not be
separated or divided.