How the Words
"UNDER GOD" Came
to be Added in
1954 to the Pledge
Lesson: Writing a News Story
on the Pledge
in the Times of
National Crises
===================================================================
The U.S. Constitution, which
represents the supreme
law of the
United States of America, was completed in
1787. Over a hundred years later, Francis Bellamy, a
Baptist minister from New York, wrote a pledge of allegiance.
Bellamy chaired a committee of state superintendents of education, and
public schools all around the country were preparing a celebration the
anniversary of Columbus Day. Rev. Bellamy desired a special
celebration, and he wanted to center it around a flag-raising ceremony and
salute.
The
first pledge stated:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which
it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
The
phrase was printed on leaflets and sent to schools throughout the
United States. The first organized use of the Pledge of Allegiance
came on Oct. 12, 1892, when some twelve million American school children
recited it to commemorate the 400-year anniversary of Columbus' voyage.
Notice the words "my Flag" in the first pledge. This phrase
was in the Pledge until 1924, when a National Flag Conference announced that
the words "my Flag" would be changed to "the Flag of the United States of
America." This change stemmed from a fear that that the children of
immigrants might confuse "my Flag" for the flag of their homeland. Thus the
second pledge was:
"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."
The
phrase, "under God," was added by Congress in 1954 during the Eisenhower
administration at the urging of the Knights of Columbus in order to
distinguish the United States from the “godless atheistic”
communistic Soviets.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fearing an
atomic war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, joined the lobbyist
requesting changes be made to the pledge. Congress submitted to Eisenhower's
wishes and the Pledge was revised to:
"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."
The
original Pledge was recited
while giving a stiff, uplifted right hand salute. This manner
was criticized and discontinued during WWII, due to its being so alike the gesture used
by citizens of Nazi Germany to salute Hitler. The mode of saying the pledge
shifted to one of uttering the words with right hand held over the heart,
which was established practice by 1954 when the final change in wording took
place.
School children across the United States recite the Pledge of
Allegiance at school, usually in the morning. However, in 1943, the Supreme
Court ruled in favor of plaintiffs that claimed who sought exemption from
the exercise on religious grounds. Subsequently, schools could no longer require students to recite the Pledge if it was
contrary to their religious beliefs.
In
2002 the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Federal) decided
that the phrase “under God,” inserted into the Pledge in 1954 by an act of
Congress, violated the First Amendment’s command that “Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The practice
of teachers (as agents of the government) leading students in a pledge which
acknowledges God was determined
to promote religion (in that belief the nation is under God would be an
article of monotheistic belief).
The
decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, and on March 24,
2004, the Justices heard the oral argument in the Pledge of Allegiance case,
Elk Grove Independent School District v.
Newdow. A decision in Case #02-1624 was that Dr. Newdow did not
have standing, and the case was closed without a decision on the content of
the pledge.
o
Elk Grove Independent School District and
Superintendent David Gordon claimed that “under God” is not a religious
statement and that it did no harm to children or their parents. The Pledge
is merely patriotic expression and the reference to God in the utterance in
the vein of a “ceremonial deism” (such as “In God We Trust” on coins, and
even in the opening of all Supreme Court sessions with "God Save the United
States and This Honorable Court") included to invoke solemnity.
o
Dr. Newdow claimed that the words “under God” are
patently religious and therefore the pledge exercise is unconstitutional
establishment of religion. He further claimed of the classroom setting that,
although a child does not need to say the pledge, the actuality of the
situation is coercive, in that students who demur would be marginalized,
made examples of, as individuals who will not “cooperate” with the teacher
or conform to be “like” other children.
Amicus curiae briefs in support of Newdow argued that children
view the pledge as prayer, and that the pledge exercise is deleterious to
children and to parents whose ultimate beliefs are in conflict with the
article of monotheistic belief. Examples are Buddhist, pantheists, Wiccans,
and those who have a naturalistic worldview (brights), such as atheists,
humanists, and freethinkers.
Adapted
from a number of Web sources by Dr. Paul Geisert
Return to Top
The Pew Forum's "Issue Backgrounder"
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has assembled a number of sources of
information for teaching about the pledge controversy. These include "Recent
Developments," Pledge of Allegiance Resources including a transcript of a
discussion of the topic, and an "Issues Backgrounder" providing more depth
on the question "One Nation Under God? A Constitutional Question," the
complete set of briefs and amicus briefs submitted to the Supreme Court, and
a listing of pertinent news articles.
All Briefs Submitted to
the Supreme Court
In
any Supreme Court case both sides of the issue present to the court written briefs
arguing their case. Briefs on the Merits are presented by the Petitioner (Elk
Grove Unified School District and David W. Gordon) and the Respondent (Michael
A. Newdow), and each may reply to the other's Brief.
Amicus briefs in support of the Petitioner and Respondent
may be submitted by individuals or organizations. The complete set of briefs in this case are presented and
represent a wealth of original source documents.
Outcome of
the Case
California atheist fails in quest to topple Pledge
By Tony Mauro
Special to First Amendment Center Online
"From the moment Justice John Paul Stevens began speaking from the
bench yesterday (6/16/04), it was clear that Sacramento, Calif., atheist
Michael Newdow's quixotic challenge to the words "under God" in the Pledge
of Allegiance had come to an unsuccessful end.
Stevens is often viewed as a liberal on the high court, but on matters
relating to the American flag, the World War II veteran is hawkish, having
voted in 1989 to uphold a state law that criminalized flag-burning.
Stevens quoted from his dissent in that case,
Texas v. Johnson, and also noted that yesterday, Flag Day, was the
50th anniversary of the signing of the law that inserted the words "under
God" into the Pledge. Newdow was clearly in trouble.
But while Stevens'
opinion
for a five-justice majority clearly showed fondness for the pledge and the
flag that it honors, it did not come down firmly one way or the other on
the actual assertion that Newdow made in his long-shot litigation: that
the daily recitation of the pledge in his daughter's public school
violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Instead, Stevens
said that because of Newdow's tangled family story — he has only partial
custody over his 10-year-old daughter — he did not have sufficient
standing to raise the constitutional challenge on her behalf."
Continue to read this article at
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/analysis.aspx?id=13524
Commentary
The
Pledge at the Court: Is 'under God' religious?
Inside the First
Amendment
By Charles
Haynes
First Amendment Center senior scholar
03.28.04
Cans and Can'ts
A state by state
exposition of
rules and regulations regarding the pledge is available from the
Education Commission of the States (as of August 2003).
Can
Have public school recitations of the pledge.
Allow the student to not say the pledge, remain silent instead of saying
"under God", and leave the room while the pledge is said.
Can Not
Compel
students to say the pledge, nor punish them for refusing to say the pledge
(resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 60 years ago with its landmark
1943 decision
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette)
Key
Internet Search Terms
pledge allegiance history
pledge allegiance supreme court
pledge allegiance 9th circuit court
pledge allegiance origins
ceremonial deism
monotheism
How the words "UNDER GOD" came to be added in 1954 to the Pledge of Allegiance
to the Flag, by the Knights of Columbus
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.
|
An
interesting Web page describing from the Knights of Columbus perspective on the
adding of the the words "under God" to the existing pledge.
Lesson on the First Amendment: Religion in Public Schools
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. One of the most emotional and
controversial issues raised by the First Amendment is the question of the role
religion should play in public institutions. The First Amendment prohibits
government from establishing a religion and protects each individual's right to
practice (or not practice) any faith without government interference. In this
lesson, students will focus on one aspect of the presence of religion in public
institutions: the controversy surrounding religion in the public schools.
Through research and interviews with community members, students examine
different perspectives on this issue. They then act as a fact-finding commission
whose job is to offer a recommendation to a school administration about its
policy on religion in the school. This lesson would work well in the
context of a unit on the United States Constitution and the events that led to
the ratification of the Bill of Rights.
Grades 6-8, make sure you look at: Background, Procedures for Teachers, and
Organizers for Students
Writing a News Story on the Pledge of Allegiance in the
Times of National Crises
Upper level grades in the following areas: Journalism, Media Studies,
Government, History, Reading, Language
Format PDF download for printing
Produced by the Washington Post. Use this lesson to learn the basics of
writing a news story in inverted pyramid style from the lead to the cut-off
test. Reproducibles for students include "The Annotated News Story," "How to...
Write a News Story," "How to... Begin a News Story" and "The Inverted Pyramid."
Post reporters answer student questions about their careers. The Washington Post
timeline focuses on 1890-1900, a decade that witnessed the explosion of the
Maine in Cuba, yellow journalism and the newsboys strike in New York City. "You
and Your Rights" lesson takes a closer look at the Pledge of Allegiance in the
times of national crises.
10/18/2004
