Last updated on: 7/16/2010 | Author: ProCon.org

Did You Know?

1. The US Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Socialist and a Baptist minister. It read: "I Pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."
2. The Pledge was officially endorsed by the US government on June 22, 1942.
3. Before December 1942 reciters saluted the flag in a straight arm salute. This arm motion was eliminated by Congress in its revised Flag Code during WWII because of the similarity to the Nazi salute.
4. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed on June 14, 1954 a joint-party Congressional act which added the words "under God" to the text of the Pledge of Allegiance.
5. Michael A. Newdow, an emergency room physician with a law degree from the University of Michigan, filed multiple lawsuits arguing that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional. In the 2002 case Newdow v. US Congress the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in Newdow's favor, however the court changed its position and voted 2-1 in the 2010 case Newdow v. Carey.
 
 

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