The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States
How America Came to be One Nation Under God
Jan 23, 2009
The Pledge of Allegiance was first written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and Christian Socialist,and published in a popular children's magazine as part of the celebrations of Columbus Day, with that year seeing the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America.
The Original Pledge of Allegiance
The original wording was:
"I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
As the Pledge came into widespread use there were a few changes made to it, but these were just designed to make it crystal clear, especially to the growing number of immigrants, that the Pledge was to the United States of America.
One Nation Under God
However, 1954 saw a dramatic and controversial change to the Pledge. Under strong lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and with the support of President Eisenhower a resolution to change the Pledge was passed by Congress. The current Pledge of Allegiance reads:
"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."
Many feel that this now contravenes both the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as contradicting the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli which states that, “[...] the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 and is now the largest Catholic fraternal service organization in the world. Membership is limited to "practical Catholic" men aged 18 or older and the Knights now boast some 1.7 million members. The Vatican is highly supportive of the organization, with Pope Benedict XVI moving forward the process of possible canonization of the founder of the Knights, Father Michael J. McGivney. It is worth noting that back in 1882 the Vatican was in a weak position, with the founding of the Italian state, and that Opus Dei had not yet been created.
The Political Power of the Knights
The Knights of Columbus undoubtedly do a lot of charitable work, but this is undoubtedly with the aim of spreading their Catholic message. Their political influence in the United States raises grave concerns about the separation of church and state as defined by the First Amendment. Every US President is invited to speak at their annual Supreme Convention and, apart from Bill Clinton who sent a written message, all recent presidents have taken up the offer. John F. Kennedy, the only Roman Catholic President so far, was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. It is therefore of little surprise that the Knights were able to muster the political will to change the Pledge of Allegiance.
Challenges to the Pledge
There have been numerous legal challenges to the Pledge, both before 1954 but especially since then. Jehovah's Witnesses protested that they could not swear allegiance to any power higher than God. Libertarians objected that any oath pledged to a state was a sign of socialism. But it has mainly been atheists and secularists who have taken their cases the furthest, arguing that the “under God” phrase violates the separation of church and state. Sadly, the Supreme Court has found ways to suspend judgement. In 2004 the Supreme Court rejected a case brought by the atheist Michael Newdow on a technicality. This seems like a bit of poor legal advice but Newdow is trying again. In 2002 both the Senate and the House voted overwhelmingly to keep the Pledge as it stands. Looks like America will remain “one nation, under God” for the foreseeable future.
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