The Pledge of Allegiance: Where did it come from, and why do Americans say it?

Photo by Cristina Glebova, Unsplash

If you attended an American public school, you probably learned to recite the Pledge of Allegiance maybe as well as the alphabet. "But while it feels like an elemental part of the American educational system, the Pledge is not only unique in a democratic nation that prides itself on liberty and free will," reports Sarah Kuta of National Geographic. "But it's also evolved through history to reflect the country's of-the-moment political and cultural anxieties."

The pledge's initial lines were written by a young Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy, who penned, "'I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands—one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' At the time, Bellamy was working in the marketing department of a popular family magazine called Youth’s Companion," Kuta explains. "The magazine published his verse and, on October 21, 1892—the nation’s first official Columbus Day—school children across the country recited it for the first time."

"Under other circumstances, that likely would’ve been the end of the pledge. But a few factors gave it staying power. Thanks to an earlier initiative spearheaded by the Grand Army of the Republic, a group of Union veterans of the Civil War, nearly every public school classroom had an American flag," Kuta reports. "In addition, the lead-up to the Spanish-American war led to a surge of nationalism." Charles Dorn, a professor of education at Bowdoin College, told Kuta: “The flags were already there; there was already this desire to do something to make immigrant kids more American, so lots of communities wind up holding onto this ritual."

The wording of the pledge and its acceptance by Americans has evolved. For instance, "pledging allegiance to a flag specifically 'of the United States of America' was added in the early 1920s. Tackling the perceived post-war threat of communism, President Dwight Eisenhower ensured Americans made that pledge 'under God' in June 1954," Kuta writes. Students and teachers being made to say the pledge in school has been debated and litigated. "In 2021, Montana updated its law to say that the school district shall inform students and teachers of their right not to participate and that anyone who objects to the pledge 'must be excused. In Texas, students must present a written request from a parent or guardian in order to be excused."

While other countries have pledges and mantras, "The pledge is unique, says Dorn. For one, it’s primarily something that kids say—though adults also sometimes recite it, such as at city council meetings." Dorn told her, "[It's] literally burned into our brains. People know it in a way that they really don’t know other things.”