"One Nation under God"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the original Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1882 by a Christian Socialist Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, stated, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The author points out that the phrase, "under God", which was added in 1954, has raised questions of its constitutionality because it may violate the concept of separation of church and state. The paper relates that the argument for the pledge revolves around the points that God is not bad for the American people or that supporters do fully concur with the idea of the separation of church and state. Color picture and annotated bibliography included.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Origins
Under God
Constitutionality
Those in Favor
Those Against
Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography

From the Paper:

"The original pledge has changed over the years. For example, in 1923 and 1924, against Bellamy's wishes, the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution changed the words 'my Flag,' to 'the Flag of the United States of America.' In 1954, the United States Congress added the words 'under God' to the Pledge because of a controversial campaign by the Knights of Columbus better known as the KKK. In June of 1954, at the height of the McCarthy hysteria, and at the urging of the Knights of Columbus, an amendment was made to add the words "under God." Then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower said of the pledge, "From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and every rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.""

More papers on "One Nation under God":

• Book Review # 113741 : "A Nation Under our Feet"
• Term Paper # 91971 : "The "Chosen" People"
• Essay # 137667 : "African-American Studies: Book Critique of Defending Slavery"

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