Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance

Francis Bellamy wrote these now famous words, first printed in Youth's Companion, Sept. 8, 1892:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all." At the second National Flag Conference held in Washington. DC. on Flag Day, 1924, they added the words "of America."

A further change was made in the Pledge by House Joint Resolution 243 approved by President Eisenhower on June 14th, 1954. This amended the language by adding the words "under God,'' so that it now reads

"one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Francis Bellamy (1855-1932) wrote the Pledge for the observance of the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. He was working on a journal for juveniles. called Youth's Companion. James B. Upham was the editor and they worked closely together. He went to the paper in 1891.

His job on the paper was to promote patriotism and the flying of the flag over the public schools. He was made Chairman of the executive committee for the National Public School Celebration of Columbus Day in 1892. He felt every public and private school in the land should fly the flag.

Bellamy visited President Benjamin Harrison in Washington to ask him to endorse the idea of a flag over every school house and the teaching of patriotism in all the schools. On June 21st, 1892 President Harrison signed the Proclamation that said "Let the National Flag float over every school house in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship!"

We Pledge Our Allegiance as children in school
And then we are taught that old Golden Rule
We learn about pride and how freedom rings
That justice will serve in all of these things
They say to be proud of wars we have won
Let's take a good look at what they have done
There's Saudi, Korea and Viet Nam too
But lets not forget World War 1 and 2
Yet also there's others that ask for our aide
Because we are strong and they're so afraid
They say we are called the land of the free
But I'm not so sure I really agree
You see, we're the ones who's paying the cost
Of all who have died and bodies now lost
Yet right here at home our war's never end
We fight to survive and pray that we win
The drugs and abuse are out there each day
And racism still has not gone away
It's almost as though we've learned to accept
The promises made that never are kept
There's people that live in boxes out there
With no food to eat and no-one to care
We saw Waco held with flames all around
And children have guns they're not putting down
A bombing took lives of babies that day
It also took mothers and fathers away
There's times I can see that shiny black wall
With names of the ones I don't know at all
I see the white crosses on graves that they share
Yet nobody knows who's buried in there
Then high on a pole "Old Glory" will wave
With honor and pride above every grave
It seems man has made his own destiny
He's eaten once more from Satan's sweet tree
And look what this knowledge has taught everyone
That we should be proud of wars we have won
If we can take men and travel in space
Then why can't we heal our own human race
It's still up to us if we really care
PLEASE wake up "AMERICA" ;we're dying out there

© By:Freda H. Babinski ©
Written: 7-13-95

I am the flag of the United States of America.

I was born on June 14, 1777 in Philadelphia.

It was there that the Continental Congress
adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes, alternating red and white,
with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue,
represented a new constellation ... a new nation
dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today, fifty stars signal from my union,
one for each of the fifty sovereign states
in the greatest constitutional republic
the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals
and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage
and integrity of American men and boys
and the self-sacrifice and devotion
of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles ...
liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom ...
freedom of speech, religion, assembly,
the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination
brought to my land by Christopher Columbus
and by all my forefathers ...
the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation's law...
the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy ...
"A government of the people,
by the people, for the people."

I stand guard over my nation's schools,
the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation.
Every school yard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily, thousands upon thousands of boys and girls
pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law ... Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" ...
which definitely states my correct use
and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day.
June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country.
I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty
purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom,
which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate,
if I am nullified and destroyed,
you and your children will become slaves
to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against
the peaceful skies of my country,
remind yourself that I am the flag of your country,
that I stand for what you are ... no more, no less.

Guard me well,
lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand ...
"One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I was created in freedom.
I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity
in my "land of the free and the home of the brave"
and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory,"
the flag of the United States of America.