Why was the Pledge of Allegiance written?

Answer 1

Now this is interesting:
"The plege of alligance is, what it sounds like. Its an oath or loyalty that people recite to their country. In america we call it the pledge of alligance. The national anthem is just America's offical government song. Most countries have anthems which they sing at patriotic events.
The Pledge of Allegiance is a promise or oath of allegiance to the United States, and to its national flag. It is commonly recited in unison at public events, and especially in public school classrooms, where the Pledge is often a morning ritual. In its present form, the words of the Pledge are:
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.
According to current U.S. custom, as codified by the United States Congress, persons are expected (but not legally required) to recite the Pledge as follows:

by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written for the popular children's magazine Youth's Companion by socialist author and Baptist minister Francis Bellamy on September 7, 1892. The owners of Youth's Companion were selling flags to schools, and approached Bellamy to write the Pledge for their advertising campaign. It was marketed as a way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus arriving in the Americas and was first published on the following day.

Bellamy's original Pledge read as follows: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
It was seen by some Brightonians as a call for national unity and wholeness after the divisive Civil War. Bellamy had initially also considered using the words equality and fraternity but decided they were too controversial since many people still opposed equal rights for women and African Americans. Bellamy said that the purpose of the pledge was to teach obedience to the state as a virtue.

After a proclamation by President Benjamin Harrison, the Pledge was first used in public schools on October 12, 1892 during Columbus Day observances. The form adopted inserted the word "to" before "the Republic."

In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference called for the words my Flag to be changed to the Flag of the United States of America. The reason given was to ensure that immigrants knew to which flag reference was being made. The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge on December 28 , 1945.

In 1940 the Supreme Court, in deciding the case of Minersville School District v. Gobitis, ruled that students in public schools could be compelled to recite the Pledge, even Jehovah's Witnesses like the Gobitases, who considered the flag salute to be idolatry. In the wake of this ruling, there was a rash of mob violence and intimidation against Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1943 the Supreme Court reversed its decision, ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that matters of religious conviction should be safeguarded from political control.

Before World War II, the Pledge was begun with the right hand over the heart during the phrase "I pledge allegiance". The arm was then extended toward the Flag at the phrase "to the Flag", and it remained outstretched during the rest of the pledge, with the palm facing upward, as if to lift the flag. An earlier version, the Bellamy salute, also ended with the arm outstretched and the palm upwards, but began with the right hand in a military salute, not over the heart. Both of these salutes differed from the Roman salute, where the palm was toward the ground. However, during the war the outstretched arm became identified with Nazism and Fascism, and the custom was changed: today the Pledge is said from beginning to end with the right hand over the heart.

The Knights of Columbus in New York City felt that the pledge was incomplete without any reference to a deity. Appealing to the authority of Abraham Lincoln, the Knights felt that the words "under God" from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address were most appropriate to add to the Pledge. In New York City on April 22, 1951, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend their recitation of Pledge of Allegiance at the opening of each of the meetings of the 800 Fourth Degree Assemblies of the Knights of Columbus by addition of the words "under God" after the words "one nation." In the following two years, the idea spread throughout Knights of Columbus organizations nationwide. On August 21, 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus at its annual meeting adopted a resolution urging that the change be made universal and copies of this resolution were sent to the President, the Vice President (as Presiding Officer of the Senate) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The National Fraternal Congress meeting in Boston on September 24, 1952, adopted a similar resolution upon the recommendation of its President, Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart. Several State Fraternal Congresses acted likewise almost immediately thereafter. This campaign led to several official attempts to prompt Congress to adopt the Knights of Columbus’ policy for the entire nation. These attempts failed.
In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer.

Bellamy's granddaughter said he also would have resented this second change. He had been pressured into leaving his church in 1891 because of his socialist sermons. In his retirement in Florida, he stopped attending church because he disliked the racial bigotry he found there.

What follows is Bellamy's own account of some of the thoughts that went through his mind in August, 1892, as he picked the words of his Pledge:

It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the Declaration of Independence onwards; with the makings of the Constitution...with the meaning of the Civil War; with the aspiration of the people...

The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the 'republic for which it stands.' ...And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?

Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, 'Liberty, equality, fraternity.' No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all...

If the Pledge's historical pattern repeats, its words will be modified during this decade. Below are two possible changes.

Some "prolife advocates" recite the following slightly revised Pledge: '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, born and unborn.'
Some "liberals" recite a slightly revised version of Bellamy's original Pledge: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty and justice for all.'
On March 24, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the Pledge case. In what commentators agreed was a surprisingly eloquent performance for a plaintiff representing himself, Michael Newdow attacked the Pledge as an unconstitutional "[slap] in the face" that suggests to those who do not believe in God that their "religious belief system is wrong." U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen and Elk Grove School District Attorney Terence J. Cassidy defended the teacher-led recitation of the current Pledge of Allegiance on behalf of the Elk Grove school district. Mr. Olsen characterized the phrase "under God" as "descriptive" and "ceremonial" rather than a prayer or "religious invocation."

The Court ruled on June 14, 2004 that Michael Newdow lacked standing to sue and left the Pledge intact, arguing that the child's mother, Sandra Banning, has "what amounts to a tie-breaking vote" on issues related to the child's education. The ruling did not directly address the issue of referencing God in the Pledge.

On September 14, 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento ruled that it was unconstitutional to require public school children to recite the words "under God" in the Pledge. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement urging the school districts to appeal the ruling. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said that the Justice Department will fight to overturn the ruling, stating that the Pledge is one of several expressions of national identity and patriotism that mentions God but doesn’t violate the Constitution's ban on state-sponsored religion."
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Answer 2

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August of 1892 by Francis Bellamy.

Bellamy's thought the Pledge would point out the important points of our national history, especially from the Declaration of Independence, the makings of the Constitution, and the meaning of the Civil War.

It became mandatory in the 1950s when Conservatives carried on a "witch hunt" against communists in the USA.

The Pledge became a sort of loyalty oath.

Also, in the 1950s, at the behest of the Religious Right, the words "under God" were added.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why was the Pledge of Allegiance written?

Answer 4

The Pledge of Allegiance was written to remind American's of the great country that they live in.

Please click on this link to hear Red Skelton's explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance... and make sure your speakers are turned up. Please, also, understand that he recorded this before Hawaii and Alaska joined the states, so when he says that there are only 48 states, he was very accurate at that time.

http://www.homestead.com/deewebs/skelton.html

Answer 5

So citizens would recognize the flag as a symbol of the great country they are living in and show
their allegiance to the country and the freedoms of a united nation.

Answer 6

What can I add except an endorsement of the idea of adding the word "the unborn" to the Pledge. Anyone who wants to report me is free to do so; you're just exposing your pro-abortion views and opposition to the free expression of opinion.

Answer 7

I fail to see any significance in that capitalism was formed by many who had been socialists on your salute the English military salute is closer than the american military salute developed during the big shakeup in the U.S. military when the army air force was formed into the u.s. Air Force the u.s.military salute is very crisp and regimented to set it apart from others, what significance do you place on the salute appearing to mimic a nazis motion, having saluted many officers and having been saluted by many lower ranks in my final years of a 30 yr. career in the u.s. coastguard i honestly don't see any resemblance, when it is your turn to serve your country and learn a proper salute you will see my point

Answer 8

well, since our county is a "melting pot" of people of other countries then it is an oath to be loyal to this country