Reasons Behind The Pledge Of Allegiance

September 8th, 1892 was the day the Pledge of Allegiance was published for all of America to see. Over a hundred years later and this pledge is one of the most memorable pieces of American history. Today the pledge is used in schools for the students to say right before school starts. Every morning all schools tell their students to stand up and say the pledge. Even though it is highly enforced by most schools, the students are not forced to say the pledge or even stand for it.

I Pledge Allegiance, by Chris Lynch, is a book about the troubles a young teen named Morris goes through when he and his three life long best friends from Boston, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck find out that Rudi is being drafted into the military to go and fight in Vietnam. Once the Morris, Ivan, Beck, and Rudi find out that one of them is being drafted they all make a pledge to join the military and do whatever it takes to protect each other and keep each other safe.

For years American citizens have held respect for something important to veterans all over America, known as the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge of allegiance is a solemn oath of loyalty to the US, declaimed as part of flag-saluting ceremonies. It’s tradition to stand during the allegiance, and place your right hand over your heart. Doing so, shows respect to America, and to the veterans who fought for our freedom. Recently, individuals have been speaking out as to why you shouldn’t be forced to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance.

"I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under Congress, the Supreme Court, the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers, and the President, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The original Pledge of Allegiance was meant as an expression of patriotism, not religious faith and made no mention of God. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy. He wrote it for the popular magazine Youth's Companion on the occasion of the nation's first celebration of Columbus Day. It’s wording omitted reference not only to God but also to the United States. “Under God” should be removed from the pledge for purposes of creating equality in different beliefs and allowing each American their right laid out in the constitution. These are the original words to the Pledge of Allegiance.

One of the most controversial issues, if “Under God” should remain in the pledge, and if children should be required to say it, went to court a few weeks ago. The argument was brought to court by Michael Newdow, the father to the girl on whose behalf the lawsuit was brought forward. Newdow argued in court and on many different public speaking occasions that knowing his child is being led to say “One nation under God” on a daily basis makes him feel “Disenfranchised”. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). He points out that “The Pledge, which has “liberty for all” is being used to inculcate his daughter in a religious worldview he cannot accept”. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). This means

The concept of people refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance affects everyone’s perspective of that particular individual. Though I remain neutral in my perspective of these actions/claimed protests, the idea of standing for something that is meant to unify the nation has been observed to take over the minds of American citizens. The individuals that argue with or attack those who peacefully refuse to stand for either the National Anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance are looked at by others as “brainwashed” by the negative nationalism that both bring into American society on the account that the protesters would have the constitutional right to do so. The personal concept of refusing to stand began to rise after Colin Kaepernick, the

Seventy-three years ago, Congress put the United States in a difficult situation. It concerned the Pledge of Allegiance. They decided to add the phrase “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance which started a great amount of controversy among people. Some people argument that since “under God” was never a part of the original Pledge of Allegiance and many US citizens don't believe in a god at all. Any pledge they may make 'under god' would be irrational and irrelevant. But the rest have a different idea about the problem. They believe the U.S. is a nation founded by religious persons and Americans are joined by great ties to multiple religions, so there should be no separation of church and state. They want to keep the “Under God” in the pledge. Gwen Wilde, a student at Tufts University, explains this issue in her essay, “Why the Pledge of Allegiance Should Be Revised”. She says “the addition of the words ‘under God’ is inappropriate, and they are needlessly

Should people have to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? I believe that people should have to stand for the Pledge, but being forced to say it is wrong. America has given you the great opportunity of living in a free country. Though you should still be involved in their traditions just to show that you enjoy being here, and that you care about the people who have given you that opportunity to live here.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words “under God.” Thus, since 1954 the Pledge 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. (Djupe 329) In my view, the addition of the words “under God” is inappropriate, and they are needlessly divisive—an odd addition indeed to a Nation that is said to be “indivisible.”

Why the pledge of allegiance should be revised, by Gwen Wilde, is a very well written essay that the reader would most likely deem convincing. Gwen Wilde states that the Pledge in its latest from simply requires all Americans to say the phrase “one nation, under God,” when many Americans do not believe in God. She uses many different writing strategies to get her point across in a very precise and appropriate manner. Although there are some minor problems, this analysis will explain how Gwen Wilde uses certain writing strategies that are able to back her argument with a very convincing approach.

The future of our country recites these words every day before starting class, in many countries among the nation. There is a reason why these words are recited. They express the deeply rooted values and patriotism of American people. In 1954, the phrase “under God” was added to the American Pledge of Allegiance, and it became the main source of many court cases throughout the years. Nowadays, these two simple but controversial word have caused a legal tangle with many court cases that mostly end up at the Supreme Court. For the most part, the debates revolve around the constitutionality of these words. The First Amendment to the Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…" Many people seem to think that the addition of the phrase to the American Pledge of Allegiance is counteracting the Establishment Clause. Nowadays, there have been many cases where it has been requested for these two words to be removed from the Pledge. The Pledge was made to unite all Americans together, in order to fight

As a daily routine many schools have their students start by standing up, facing the American flag, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This is something that most students have memorized since kindergarten and in some cases even preschool. The students recite the pledge every morning and most of them don’t know what it means or aren’t really sure why they have to say it. If students don’t know what the purpose or the history behind something is, they generally don’t take the matter seriously, which with The Pledge being a serious matter, students need to know the history in order to show respect. The Pledge of Allegiance should be said every morning by students at schools in the USA and they should be aware of its meaning.

Across California, schools are no longer are required to recite The Pledge of Allegiance in public school, but outside its mandatory. Studies have shown that this has no effect on the children, no matter what test scores the school has. The choice of whether to teach it or not, is up to the principals or teachers of the school, nevertheless the school is still required schools are required to have a “patriotic exercise” everyday. There have not been any particular differences between schools that teach it and schools that do not. Parents do not seem to mind their child not knowing the pledge, for example Todd Davis. His fifth grade son knows the pledge by heart and in two languages, but his second grade daughter did not know what it was. David shrugged it of not caring because there is no necessity

Summary: The division between church and state is a gray line that is often crossed and argued about. For example, Gwen Wilde, the author, argues that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance requires people who do not believe in God to recite something they do not necessarily believe in. If a person chose not to say the full Pledge, including to utter the words “under God” they run the risk of being called unpatriotic. The author continually argues that the words “under God” add a religious doctrine that not all Americans believe in.