The original "Pledge of Allegiance" was published in the September 8 issue of the popular children's magazine The Youth's Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The event was conceived and promoted by James B. Upham, a marketer for the magazine, as a campaign to instill the idea of American nationalism by selling flags to public schools and magazines to students.
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."
Students swearing the Pledge on Flag Day in 1899.
The Pledge was supposed to be quick and to the point.
The Pledge has been modified four times since its composition, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954.
Here is the latest Pledge of Allegiance that will be approved:
I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, and to the Socialism for which it stands, one nation with no liberty or freedom for all.
