1 00:00:08,802 --> 00:00:10,202 Speaker 1: Great Originals. 2 00:00:10,362 --> 00:00:12,522 Speaker 2: This is an iHeart original. 3 00:00:16,122 --> 00:00:21,882 Speaker 3: It's October twenty first, eighteen ninety two. Across the United States, 4 00:00:22,082 --> 00:00:25,362 Speaker 3: school kids are gathering for a once in a lifetime 5 00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:31,362 Speaker 3: celebration the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America. 6 00:00:32,082 --> 00:00:36,042 Speaker 3: Of course, Columbus never actually stepped foot on American soil, 7 00:00:36,482 --> 00:00:39,282 Speaker 3: and he went to his grave thinking he really landed 8 00:00:39,402 --> 00:00:44,122 Speaker 3: in India. But that's a topic for another podcast. Back 9 00:00:44,162 --> 00:00:49,042 Speaker 3: to eighteen ninety two. In celebration of this flawed and 10 00:00:49,282 --> 00:00:56,482 Speaker 3: historically inaccurate holiday, then President Benjamin Harrison issues a special proclamation. 11 00:00:57,162 --> 00:01:01,322 Speaker 3: He calls for America's new system of public schools to 12 00:01:01,522 --> 00:01:06,602 Speaker 3: fly the American flag high and proud. As parades of 13 00:01:06,602 --> 00:01:10,522 Speaker 3: Civil War veterans file into school yards across the country, 14 00:01:10,882 --> 00:01:14,762 Speaker 3: students prepare to salute the flag, and not just that, 15 00:01:15,562 --> 00:01:19,962 Speaker 3: they're about to recite a new patriotic oath. They've been 16 00:01:20,002 --> 00:01:23,642 Speaker 3: practicing it every day for a month, just for this 17 00:01:23,882 --> 00:01:27,842 Speaker 3: special occasion. It's only twenty two words long, but it's 18 00:01:27,842 --> 00:01:31,082 Speaker 3: still a mouthful for a bunch of school children. For 19 00:01:31,202 --> 00:01:32,362 Speaker 3: anyone really. 20 00:01:32,962 --> 00:01:36,242 Speaker 4: Ledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which 21 00:01:36,242 --> 00:01:41,282 Speaker 4: it stands. One Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. 22 00:01:43,362 --> 00:01:47,682 Speaker 3: Sound familiar, Sure, it's missing a few words and phrases. 23 00:01:48,202 --> 00:01:53,162 Speaker 3: Those would come decades later. But that day, October twenty first, 24 00:01:53,402 --> 00:01:57,402 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety two, was the public debut of what we 25 00:01:57,482 --> 00:02:02,562 Speaker 3: all recognize now as the Pledge of Allegiance. The thing is, 26 00:02:03,042 --> 00:02:07,122 Speaker 3: back then, it wasn't called the Capital P Pledge of 27 00:02:07,562 --> 00:02:12,962 Speaker 3: Capital A Allegiance. It wasn't a thing yet in eighteen 28 00:02:13,082 --> 00:02:16,202 Speaker 3: ninety two, no one had an inkling that this short, 29 00:02:16,322 --> 00:02:20,722 Speaker 3: patriotic oath written for a one time event would ever 30 00:02:20,802 --> 00:02:24,802 Speaker 3: be uttered again. As we'll see, the story of the 31 00:02:24,842 --> 00:02:28,362 Speaker 3: Pledge of Allegiance is a story of a nation at 32 00:02:28,402 --> 00:02:33,282 Speaker 3: a crossroads, a nation still healing from the collective trauma 33 00:02:33,362 --> 00:02:37,002 Speaker 3: of the Civil War, a nation experiencing one of the 34 00:02:37,122 --> 00:02:41,482 Speaker 3: largest influxes of immigrants in its history. It was a 35 00:02:41,522 --> 00:02:45,362 Speaker 3: time of tremendous anxiety over what it meant to be 36 00:02:45,642 --> 00:02:51,162 Speaker 3: an American, and the original Pledge, with its twenty two words, 37 00:02:51,762 --> 00:02:55,722 Speaker 3: was supposed to offer an answer. The crazy thing is 38 00:02:55,922 --> 00:02:59,122 Speaker 3: more than one hundred and thirty years later, after reciting 39 00:02:59,162 --> 00:03:03,282 Speaker 3: the Pledge every morning in nearly every classroom in America, 40 00:03:03,922 --> 00:03:09,642 Speaker 3: we still have absolutely no idea who wrote it. Welcome 41 00:03:09,722 --> 00:03:14,922 Speaker 3: to very special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm your host, 42 00:03:15,082 --> 00:03:20,402 Speaker 3: Danash Schwartz, and this is the pledge. I think one 43 00:03:20,402 --> 00:03:24,122 Speaker 3: thing that's always really surprising to me is discovering how 44 00:03:24,642 --> 00:03:28,322 Speaker 3: these American traditions that seem so ingrained in our country 45 00:03:28,362 --> 00:03:31,762 Speaker 3: are actually far more recent than people realize. 46 00:03:31,962 --> 00:03:32,802 Speaker 5: Oh totally. 47 00:03:33,362 --> 00:03:35,962 Speaker 4: Not only are they more recent, but kind of started 48 00:03:36,442 --> 00:03:40,362 Speaker 4: on a lark as part of a don't no spoilers. 49 00:03:40,362 --> 00:03:44,242 Speaker 4: But there's a magazine at the center of this. All 50 00:03:44,282 --> 00:03:47,162 Speaker 4: three of us come from at one point in our 51 00:03:47,162 --> 00:03:50,682 Speaker 4: careers working at magazine. So good to look back at 52 00:03:50,722 --> 00:03:53,602 Speaker 4: a time when magazines were so dominant in the culture. 53 00:03:54,242 --> 00:03:56,322 Speaker 1: Ah remember those times. 54 00:03:56,562 --> 00:04:01,282 Speaker 3: It's just as so interesting. People have such strong emotional 55 00:04:01,362 --> 00:04:04,802 Speaker 3: feelings to the pledge of allegiance and it really kind 56 00:04:04,802 --> 00:04:06,282 Speaker 3: of was arbitrary. 57 00:04:07,842 --> 00:04:10,122 Speaker 1: Also, in my humble opinion, I think America, we don't 58 00:04:10,162 --> 00:04:12,362 Speaker 1: really need a pledge of allegiance. We should have like 59 00:04:12,402 --> 00:04:14,842 Speaker 1: a national jingle like one of those ads for a 60 00:04:14,882 --> 00:04:17,522 Speaker 1: year in car sale, like come on, grab the freedom, 61 00:04:17,642 --> 00:04:18,282 Speaker 1: let's go. 62 00:04:18,562 --> 00:04:19,122 Speaker 5: That's right. 63 00:04:19,122 --> 00:04:21,322 Speaker 3: I will say, if you have a friend who's not 64 00:04:21,482 --> 00:04:24,202 Speaker 3: from the United States, and you tell them that every 65 00:04:24,242 --> 00:04:27,322 Speaker 3: single day in school, every student stands up, puts their 66 00:04:27,322 --> 00:04:29,802 Speaker 3: hand over their hearts and says a pledge to the flag. 67 00:04:30,082 --> 00:04:33,722 Speaker 3: They will look at you like you are absolutely insane. 68 00:04:33,722 --> 00:04:37,962 Speaker 1: Completely like we yell all brainwashed in your cord does Yeah. Also, 69 00:04:38,042 --> 00:04:39,882 Speaker 1: isn't it funny how when you dig into any bit 70 00:04:39,922 --> 00:04:42,282 Speaker 1: of American history, even something simple as a pledge of allegiance, 71 00:04:42,322 --> 00:04:43,482 Speaker 1: you will always find a crime. 72 00:04:44,362 --> 00:04:49,162 Speaker 3: There's always a crime. There's always a crime. America in 73 00:04:49,202 --> 00:04:53,682 Speaker 3: the late nineteenth century was having a full blown identity crisis. 74 00:04:54,242 --> 00:04:57,602 Speaker 3: When the pledge was first recited in eighteen ninety two. 75 00:04:58,162 --> 00:05:01,082 Speaker 3: It was only twenty seven years since the end of 76 00:05:01,122 --> 00:05:04,202 Speaker 3: the Civil War. Young people who had fought in and 77 00:05:04,362 --> 00:05:08,882 Speaker 3: survived the war were now full fledged volts. Families who 78 00:05:08,962 --> 00:05:13,282 Speaker 3: lost loved ones still felt the ripple effect, and the 79 00:05:13,322 --> 00:05:19,082 Speaker 3: American institution of slavery had only recently been formally abolished. 80 00:05:19,762 --> 00:05:21,602 Speaker 2: I mean, we have to keep in mind that an 81 00:05:21,802 --> 00:05:25,122 Speaker 2: entire generation was wiped out in the Civil War. Right 82 00:05:25,162 --> 00:05:27,522 Speaker 2: you think about the number of soldiers who were killed 83 00:05:27,522 --> 00:05:29,882 Speaker 2: in the United States, I mean, those are wounds that 84 00:05:29,922 --> 00:05:31,362 Speaker 2: are not going to heal very quickly. 85 00:05:32,322 --> 00:05:35,522 Speaker 3: That's Charles dorn A historian at Boden College. 86 00:05:36,122 --> 00:05:38,602 Speaker 2: Now we're into eighteen nineties and the war ends in 87 00:05:38,642 --> 00:05:42,162 Speaker 2: eighteen sixty five, but it still stings, and the country 88 00:05:42,202 --> 00:05:44,362 Speaker 2: is still trying to figure out how to stitch itself 89 00:05:44,402 --> 00:05:47,442 Speaker 2: back together politically, economically, and socially. 90 00:05:48,122 --> 00:05:51,882 Speaker 3: If recovering from the Civil War wasn't enough, the eighteen 91 00:05:51,922 --> 00:05:56,322 Speaker 3: eighties and eighteen nineties were also a time of unprecedented 92 00:05:56,442 --> 00:06:00,922 Speaker 3: urbanization and immigration. Suddenly, Americans who had been here for 93 00:06:01,202 --> 00:06:06,282 Speaker 3: generations found themselves competing for factory jobs and tenement space 94 00:06:06,682 --> 00:06:10,922 Speaker 3: with millions of new immigrants from places like Italy, Russia, 95 00:06:10,962 --> 00:06:11,802 Speaker 3: and Poland. 96 00:06:13,282 --> 00:06:15,922 Speaker 2: So this is a very different kind of immigration into 97 00:06:15,922 --> 00:06:20,442 Speaker 2: the United States than what people believe existed prior to that. 98 00:06:20,802 --> 00:06:24,002 Speaker 2: The people comprising this wave of immigration are coming from 99 00:06:24,002 --> 00:06:26,882 Speaker 2: a different part of the world. So whereas initially immigration 100 00:06:26,962 --> 00:06:29,642 Speaker 2: in the United States is coming primarily from northern and 101 00:06:29,722 --> 00:06:33,522 Speaker 2: western Europe, now these immigrants are coming from southern and 102 00:06:33,642 --> 00:06:36,562 Speaker 2: Eastern Europe. And what this means is that they're speaking 103 00:06:36,562 --> 00:06:41,882 Speaker 2: different languages, Slavic languages for instance, They're practicing different faiths. 104 00:06:43,202 --> 00:06:48,042 Speaker 3: What if these new arrivals failed to assimilate into American culture, 105 00:06:48,682 --> 00:06:53,882 Speaker 3: What if they openly rebelled against American ideals and institutions. 106 00:06:54,682 --> 00:06:57,882 Speaker 3: Tensions reached a fever pitch, and. 107 00:06:57,802 --> 00:07:00,522 Speaker 2: There's a real fear and a concern on the part 108 00:07:00,722 --> 00:07:04,642 Speaker 2: of resident Americans, Americans already living here, that this could 109 00:07:04,682 --> 00:07:08,842 Speaker 2: somehow dilute America, and it could really sort of mess 110 00:07:08,922 --> 00:07:12,082 Speaker 2: with the national character, and that something has to be 111 00:07:12,242 --> 00:07:15,682 Speaker 2: done to these people in order to essentially make them Americans. 112 00:07:16,242 --> 00:07:23,122 Speaker 3: What exactly do you do to people to make them American? Well, 113 00:07:23,202 --> 00:07:27,242 Speaker 3: the best way to Americanize people, the government decided, was 114 00:07:27,322 --> 00:07:32,002 Speaker 3: through the public schools. Public schools were still a relatively 115 00:07:32,122 --> 00:07:35,402 Speaker 3: new concept in most of the country, but there were 116 00:07:35,522 --> 00:07:41,242 Speaker 3: high hopes that these uniquely American institutions could teach little Italian, 117 00:07:41,322 --> 00:07:46,562 Speaker 3: Slavic and Irish kids to be patriotic and productive Americans. 118 00:07:47,762 --> 00:07:51,682 Speaker 2: There's a sense that these public schools are unlike anything 119 00:07:51,722 --> 00:07:53,962 Speaker 2: else that exists in any nation in the world, and 120 00:07:54,002 --> 00:07:56,962 Speaker 2: they are in some ways sort of symbols of democracy 121 00:07:57,202 --> 00:08:00,002 Speaker 2: and the democratic republic. So there was a real faith 122 00:08:00,042 --> 00:08:04,162 Speaker 2: in fact that public schools could pull off this Americanization 123 00:08:04,402 --> 00:08:07,522 Speaker 2: mission that many people believed needed to have happen in 124 00:08:07,642 --> 00:08:10,962 Speaker 2: order for immigrants to become a part of the national project. 125 00:08:12,322 --> 00:08:17,042 Speaker 3: From the start, the Americanization efforts in public schools centered 126 00:08:17,122 --> 00:08:21,402 Speaker 3: around the flag. Today, it's not really unusual to see 127 00:08:21,442 --> 00:08:27,282 Speaker 3: an American flag flying outside most schools and inside most classrooms, 128 00:08:27,762 --> 00:08:31,242 Speaker 3: but that wasn't always the case. In fact, the main 129 00:08:31,522 --> 00:08:35,882 Speaker 3: reason schools are festooned with flags today dates back to 130 00:08:35,922 --> 00:08:40,682 Speaker 3: this immigration anxiety that gripped Americans. In the eighteen eighties 131 00:08:40,722 --> 00:08:45,042 Speaker 3: and eighteen nineties, there was a nationwide campaign to put 132 00:08:45,122 --> 00:08:49,162 Speaker 3: quote a flag in every schoolhouse. It was spearheaded by 133 00:08:49,282 --> 00:08:53,762 Speaker 3: patriotic civic organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic 134 00:08:53,962 --> 00:08:57,762 Speaker 3: and the Women's Relief Corps. They wanted the flag to 135 00:08:57,762 --> 00:09:01,602 Speaker 3: be a physical symbol of America to which young immigrant 136 00:09:01,802 --> 00:09:04,402 Speaker 3: children could pledge their loyalty. 137 00:09:05,082 --> 00:09:09,082 Speaker 2: And of course, there are national oaths of loyalty in 138 00:09:09,162 --> 00:09:11,922 Speaker 2: many countries at this point in time. In fact, the 139 00:09:12,002 --> 00:09:14,082 Speaker 2: United States is a little bit of an outlier in 140 00:09:14,162 --> 00:09:17,362 Speaker 2: not having one, and so the idea that there might 141 00:09:17,402 --> 00:09:20,482 Speaker 2: be a national statement of loyalty was not a new 142 00:09:20,522 --> 00:09:22,482 Speaker 2: idea or a strange thing whatsoever. 143 00:09:25,002 --> 00:09:28,482 Speaker 3: The very first version of a pledge of allegiance was 144 00:09:28,522 --> 00:09:32,442 Speaker 3: written around eighteen ninety by a New York City education 145 00:09:32,682 --> 00:09:37,882 Speaker 3: reformer and Civil War veteran named George Balch. Bulch wasn't 146 00:09:37,922 --> 00:09:42,842 Speaker 3: a fan of mass immigration. He referred to immigrant school 147 00:09:42,922 --> 00:09:47,722 Speaker 3: children as quote human scum cast on our shores by 148 00:09:47,722 --> 00:09:52,202 Speaker 3: the tidal wave of a vast migration end quote. So 149 00:09:52,442 --> 00:09:55,402 Speaker 3: you know the kind of person we're dealing with, the 150 00:09:55,442 --> 00:09:59,482 Speaker 3: most popular version of Balch's pledge went like this. 151 00:10:00,042 --> 00:10:02,322 Speaker 4: We give our heads and our hearts to God and 152 00:10:02,362 --> 00:10:05,842 Speaker 4: our country, one country, one language, one flag. 153 00:10:07,082 --> 00:10:10,762 Speaker 3: The message was hardly subtle. There was only room in 154 00:10:10,802 --> 00:10:15,522 Speaker 3: America for one type of American god, fearing English speaking 155 00:10:15,642 --> 00:10:20,602 Speaker 3: and unwaveringly loyal to the United States. Balches owede to 156 00:10:20,802 --> 00:10:24,922 Speaker 3: assimilation had a nice little run. It was recited in 157 00:10:25,042 --> 00:10:29,082 Speaker 3: New York public schools well into the twentieth century. But 158 00:10:29,362 --> 00:10:33,402 Speaker 3: obviously that's not the pledge of allegiance that American school 159 00:10:33,482 --> 00:10:36,962 Speaker 3: kids know today, and it was not the pledge that 160 00:10:37,122 --> 00:10:41,282 Speaker 3: was read out during the Columbus Day celebration in eighteen 161 00:10:41,562 --> 00:10:46,322 Speaker 3: ninety two. To hear the story of that pledge, the 162 00:10:46,482 --> 00:10:50,882 Speaker 3: real pledge, we need to travel to Boston. There we'll 163 00:10:50,962 --> 00:10:57,002 Speaker 3: find a former Baptist minister turned magazine editor named Francis Bellamy. 164 00:10:57,802 --> 00:11:01,922 Speaker 3: There he is hunched over his desk, sweating through his 165 00:11:01,962 --> 00:11:06,362 Speaker 3: wool suit, wrestling with the words that would become an 166 00:11:06,442 --> 00:11:17,162 Speaker 3: American institution. It's a swelteringly hot August night in Boston 167 00:11:17,682 --> 00:11:22,202 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety two. Francis Bellamy, a thirty seven year old 168 00:11:22,242 --> 00:11:26,082 Speaker 3: writer and editor, has shut himself away in his office 169 00:11:26,242 --> 00:11:30,482 Speaker 3: at The Youth's Companion, a children's magazine and one of 170 00:11:30,522 --> 00:11:35,362 Speaker 3: the most popular magazines in America. His waste paper bucket 171 00:11:35,442 --> 00:11:40,282 Speaker 3: overflows with false starts, his pencil is ground down to 172 00:11:40,402 --> 00:11:45,402 Speaker 3: a nub. Bellamy's boss, James b Upham, has given him 173 00:11:45,482 --> 00:11:51,442 Speaker 3: an impossible writing assignment. Compose a brief patriotic statement, a 174 00:11:51,842 --> 00:11:56,642 Speaker 3: salute to the American flag that somehow encompasses all of 175 00:11:56,722 --> 00:12:01,802 Speaker 3: America's history and founding principles, and keep it short. Bellamy 176 00:12:01,922 --> 00:12:06,402 Speaker 3: knows about the existing pledge written by George Balch, One Country, 177 00:12:06,442 --> 00:12:11,282 Speaker 3: one language, one Flag, but he dismisses it as too juvenile. 178 00:12:11,962 --> 00:12:17,402 Speaker 3: Bellamy's boss wants something more sweeping and comprehensive, so Bellamy 179 00:12:17,562 --> 00:12:21,202 Speaker 3: racks his brain for a new approach. But how could 180 00:12:21,242 --> 00:12:25,162 Speaker 3: he possibly express the true essence of America in so 181 00:12:25,442 --> 00:12:29,962 Speaker 3: few words? This scene played out in a stuffy Boston 182 00:12:30,042 --> 00:12:34,722 Speaker 3: office will become a watershed moment in Bellamy's life. When 183 00:12:34,722 --> 00:12:37,962 Speaker 3: he writes about it thirty years later, he recounts the 184 00:12:38,002 --> 00:12:39,922 Speaker 3: details like it was yesterday. 185 00:12:42,202 --> 00:12:45,442 Speaker 1: The strain of the next two hours is still a 186 00:12:45,482 --> 00:12:46,922 Speaker 1: distinct memory. 187 00:12:47,682 --> 00:12:51,922 Speaker 3: Very dramatic stuff. Bellamy certainly has a way with words, 188 00:12:52,322 --> 00:12:55,882 Speaker 3: but he wasn't always a writer and editor. Before he 189 00:12:56,002 --> 00:13:00,362 Speaker 3: worked for the Youth's Companion, Bellamy was a Baptist minister, 190 00:13:01,202 --> 00:13:05,642 Speaker 3: but he wasn't your typical fire and brimstone preacher. Bellamy 191 00:13:05,722 --> 00:13:10,442 Speaker 3: and his friends were Christian socialists in the nineteenth century. 192 00:13:10,802 --> 00:13:16,202 Speaker 3: Christian socialists believed that true Christians shouldn't just sit around 193 00:13:16,322 --> 00:13:20,162 Speaker 3: praying and waiting for God to act. Christians should get 194 00:13:20,202 --> 00:13:23,802 Speaker 3: out there and actually try to fix some of society's 195 00:13:23,842 --> 00:13:26,802 Speaker 3: toughest problems. Here's Charles Dorn again. 196 00:13:29,602 --> 00:13:32,442 Speaker 2: And so the Christian Socialists are coming out of this 197 00:13:32,602 --> 00:13:37,522 Speaker 2: kind of belief system that society can act in cooperative 198 00:13:37,562 --> 00:13:42,802 Speaker 2: ways to create systems that will create a kind of 199 00:13:42,842 --> 00:13:44,602 Speaker 2: paradise or kind of heaven on earth. 200 00:13:45,762 --> 00:13:50,162 Speaker 3: Although Bellamy eventually left the ministry, he still wanted to 201 00:13:50,322 --> 00:13:54,122 Speaker 3: help people and improve society. But like a lot of 202 00:13:54,242 --> 00:13:58,402 Speaker 3: good old, homegrown Americans, in the eighteen nineties, Bellamy was 203 00:13:58,482 --> 00:14:02,482 Speaker 3: pretty rattled by the influx of immigrants from Eastern and 204 00:14:02,682 --> 00:14:04,282 Speaker 3: southern Europe. 205 00:14:04,482 --> 00:14:07,202 Speaker 2: There is a real fear, I mean, we shouldn't understand, 206 00:14:07,402 --> 00:14:11,202 Speaker 2: there's a real fear that bringing these people to the 207 00:14:11,282 --> 00:14:17,082 Speaker 2: United States could really destabilize an already destabilized nation. So 208 00:14:17,122 --> 00:14:19,082 Speaker 2: we've got to do something to make sure that that 209 00:14:19,122 --> 00:14:19,762 Speaker 2: doesn't happen. 210 00:14:22,482 --> 00:14:26,242 Speaker 3: Like many others, Bellamy subscribed to the idea that the 211 00:14:26,282 --> 00:14:31,442 Speaker 3: best way to americanize immigrants was through public schools, and 212 00:14:31,522 --> 00:14:34,802 Speaker 3: he found a welcome home for his ideas at the 213 00:14:34,882 --> 00:14:39,682 Speaker 3: Youth's Companion. The Companion was one of the first subscription 214 00:14:39,882 --> 00:14:44,802 Speaker 3: magazines in America. Launched in eighteen twenty seven, It was 215 00:14:44,882 --> 00:14:49,482 Speaker 3: like an early version of Boys Life, stuffed with serialized 216 00:14:49,522 --> 00:14:54,962 Speaker 3: adventure novels, news items, and casually racist reports from around 217 00:14:55,002 --> 00:14:58,122 Speaker 3: the globe. It was a hit with young readers and 218 00:14:58,282 --> 00:15:02,282 Speaker 3: their parents, and every week three hundred and eighty five 219 00:15:02,442 --> 00:15:08,402 Speaker 3: thousand copies were delivered to homes across the country. James B. Upham, 220 00:15:08,562 --> 00:15:13,122 Speaker 3: Bellamy's boss at The Companion, was a deeply patriotic man, 221 00:15:13,722 --> 00:15:17,682 Speaker 3: but he also had magazines to sell. It was Upham's 222 00:15:17,682 --> 00:15:21,162 Speaker 3: idea to get the magazine involved in the flag in 223 00:15:21,282 --> 00:15:26,362 Speaker 3: every schoolhouse movement of the eighteen eighties. The Companion ran 224 00:15:26,602 --> 00:15:30,642 Speaker 3: ads offering American flags to any school that needed one. 225 00:15:31,122 --> 00:15:34,482 Speaker 3: The flags weren't free. A nine foot flag cost the 226 00:15:34,562 --> 00:15:38,762 Speaker 3: equivalent of one hundred and sixty dollars today, but schools 227 00:15:38,802 --> 00:15:43,442 Speaker 3: could recoup their money. The magazine provided flag certificates that 228 00:15:43,602 --> 00:15:47,682 Speaker 3: students could sell to friends and neighbors for about three 229 00:15:47,762 --> 00:15:52,162 Speaker 3: dollars in today's money. Buyers were entitled to quote one 230 00:15:52,282 --> 00:15:56,762 Speaker 3: share in the patriotic influence of the school flag. It 231 00:15:56,922 --> 00:16:01,882 Speaker 3: was an ingenious scheme that paid off handsomely. The Youth's 232 00:16:01,922 --> 00:16:06,042 Speaker 3: Companion sold more than twenty five thousand American flags to 233 00:16:06,162 --> 00:16:10,482 Speaker 3: public schools. Not only did the Companion make a killing, 234 00:16:10,922 --> 00:16:15,642 Speaker 3: but the magazine became synonymous with patriotism. And with this 235 00:16:15,802 --> 00:16:20,242 Speaker 3: pivot to patriotism, the magazine brass wanted to lean heavily 236 00:16:20,362 --> 00:16:25,162 Speaker 3: into their new identity, and just their luck, the perfect 237 00:16:25,242 --> 00:16:30,722 Speaker 3: opportunity came knocking. As I mentioned, eighteen ninety two marked 238 00:16:30,762 --> 00:16:36,362 Speaker 3: the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's historic voyage. Civic organizations 239 00:16:36,402 --> 00:16:41,322 Speaker 3: floated the idea of a national public school celebration and 240 00:16:41,602 --> 00:16:45,802 Speaker 3: the Youth's Companion was chosen by a committee of educators 241 00:16:46,082 --> 00:16:50,002 Speaker 3: to create the actual program that schools would follow during 242 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:54,282 Speaker 3: the celebration. If the Youth's Companion pulled this off, it 243 00:16:54,322 --> 00:16:57,562 Speaker 3: would sell a crazy amount of magazines. 244 00:16:59,242 --> 00:17:02,882 Speaker 2: So the idea is that the Youth's Companion will propose 245 00:17:03,202 --> 00:17:08,242 Speaker 2: a celebratory program that will take place on a particular weekend, 246 00:17:08,642 --> 00:17:11,322 Speaker 2: and there will literally be like a sequence of activities 247 00:17:11,442 --> 00:17:15,922 Speaker 2: or events or programs that communities can adopt and participate in. 248 00:17:16,482 --> 00:17:19,282 Speaker 2: And one of those is going to be bringing kids 249 00:17:19,322 --> 00:17:23,482 Speaker 2: together at schools and listenings who has some addresses and 250 00:17:23,562 --> 00:17:29,242 Speaker 2: some speeches, and then celebrating by reciting a national pledge. 251 00:17:30,202 --> 00:17:34,362 Speaker 3: A national pledge that was the kicker. James Upham was 252 00:17:34,522 --> 00:17:39,162 Speaker 3: insistent that the Youth's Companion program include a salute to 253 00:17:39,242 --> 00:17:42,402 Speaker 3: the flag. He tried to write one himself a bunch 254 00:17:42,402 --> 00:17:45,802 Speaker 3: of times, but gave up as the date of the 255 00:17:45,842 --> 00:17:50,842 Speaker 3: celebration neared. Upham turned in desperation to his junior employee, 256 00:17:51,082 --> 00:17:55,882 Speaker 3: Francis Bellamy. That's how Bellamy finds himself cloistered in his 257 00:17:56,002 --> 00:17:59,082 Speaker 3: office on a hot August night in eighteen ninety two 258 00:17:59,642 --> 00:18:02,602 Speaker 3: with a deadline looming for the most important part of 259 00:18:02,642 --> 00:18:07,562 Speaker 3: the Columbus Day program, the Salute to the Flag. Bellamy 260 00:18:07,642 --> 00:18:10,482 Speaker 3: sweats it out for a while before finally having his 261 00:18:10,682 --> 00:18:18,682 Speaker 3: first breakthrough. One word allegiance. It means loyalty, faithfulness, obedience, everything. 262 00:18:18,762 --> 00:18:22,722 Speaker 3: Bellamy wants the flag to inspire in immigrant school children, 263 00:18:23,322 --> 00:18:27,122 Speaker 3: and just like that, six fateful words appear at the 264 00:18:27,162 --> 00:18:31,282 Speaker 3: top of the page. Here's what Bellamy wrote about that moment, 265 00:18:31,722 --> 00:18:33,642 Speaker 3: looking back decades later. 266 00:18:35,562 --> 00:18:39,642 Speaker 1: I pledge allegiance to my flag when those first words 267 00:18:39,682 --> 00:18:42,442 Speaker 1: looked up at me from the scratch paper. The start 268 00:18:42,642 --> 00:18:44,522 Speaker 1: appeared promising. 269 00:18:45,002 --> 00:18:45,602 Speaker 4: On a roll. 270 00:18:45,682 --> 00:18:49,722 Speaker 3: Now Bellamy wrestles with the next part. Should it be country, 271 00:18:50,002 --> 00:18:51,482 Speaker 3: nation or republic? 272 00:18:52,282 --> 00:18:56,242 Speaker 1: Republic? One because it distinguished the form of government chosen 273 00:18:56,322 --> 00:19:00,362 Speaker 1: by the fathers and established by the Revolution. The true 274 00:19:00,482 --> 00:19:03,882 Speaker 1: reason for allegiance to the flag is the republic for 275 00:19:03,922 --> 00:19:04,842 Speaker 1: which it stands. 276 00:19:05,762 --> 00:19:11,602 Speaker 3: Next, Bellamy turned to his American heroes, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, 277 00:19:11,722 --> 00:19:16,882 Speaker 3: and Abraham Lincoln. How would they characterize their beloved republic 278 00:19:17,362 --> 00:19:19,722 Speaker 3: in the wake of a wretching Civil war. 279 00:19:20,402 --> 00:19:24,842 Speaker 1: After many attempts, all that pictured struggle reduced itself to 280 00:19:24,962 --> 00:19:30,922 Speaker 1: three words. One nation, indivisible, to reach that compact brevity was, 281 00:19:31,322 --> 00:19:34,122 Speaker 1: as I recall, the most arduous phase of the task, 282 00:19:34,722 --> 00:19:38,282 Speaker 1: and the discarded experiments at phrasing overflowed the scrap basket. 283 00:19:39,602 --> 00:19:42,922 Speaker 3: Sure he was laying it on a little thick but 284 00:19:43,042 --> 00:19:48,602 Speaker 3: with those words locked in One Nation, indivisible, Bellamy searches. 285 00:19:48,242 --> 00:19:52,842 Speaker 1: For a closer What doctrines, then, would everybody agree upon? 286 00:19:52,962 --> 00:19:56,882 Speaker 1: As the basis of Americanism, Liberty and justice were surely basic, 287 00:19:57,122 --> 00:20:00,322 Speaker 1: were undebatable, and were all that any one nation could 288 00:20:00,362 --> 00:20:03,922 Speaker 1: handle if they were exercised for all. They involved the 289 00:20:03,962 --> 00:20:07,882 Speaker 1: spirit of equality and fraternity. So that final with liberty 290 00:20:07,962 --> 00:20:11,402 Speaker 1: and justice for all came with a cheering rush as 291 00:20:11,402 --> 00:20:14,242 Speaker 1: a clincher. It seemed to assemble the past and to 292 00:20:14,322 --> 00:20:17,642 Speaker 1: promise the future. That I remember is how the sequence 293 00:20:17,682 --> 00:20:20,442 Speaker 1: of the ideas grew, and how the words were found. 294 00:20:20,562 --> 00:20:23,882 Speaker 1: On that August night, with the cooling Boston seabreeze coming 295 00:20:23,922 --> 00:20:28,202 Speaker 1: softly through the open window of my room. 296 00:20:28,682 --> 00:20:32,562 Speaker 3: After two hours of writing, Bellamy had his twenty two 297 00:20:32,642 --> 00:20:37,722 Speaker 3: word national creed. I pledge allegiance to my flag and 298 00:20:37,762 --> 00:20:42,482 Speaker 3: the Republic for which it stands, One nation, indivisible, with 299 00:20:42,602 --> 00:20:47,482 Speaker 3: liberty and justice for all. Bellamy proudly presents his pledge 300 00:20:47,522 --> 00:20:48,042 Speaker 3: to Upham. 301 00:20:48,522 --> 00:20:53,122 Speaker 4: His reaction, Francis, You've written a thing which I believe 302 00:20:53,202 --> 00:20:55,762 Speaker 4: will live long after you and I are dead. 303 00:20:56,962 --> 00:21:01,202 Speaker 3: When the day of the Columbus celebration finally arrives, Bellamy 304 00:21:01,322 --> 00:21:04,362 Speaker 3: is there to witness the very first reciting of his 305 00:21:04,602 --> 00:21:08,242 Speaker 3: Pledge of Allegiance at a boss in high school. He's 306 00:21:08,322 --> 00:21:13,522 Speaker 3: floored when four thousand students roar his words in unison. 307 00:21:14,562 --> 00:21:16,762 Speaker 3: At the top of the episode, I said, we have 308 00:21:16,842 --> 00:21:20,162 Speaker 3: no idea who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance, yet we 309 00:21:20,402 --> 00:21:24,082 Speaker 3: just listened to Francis Bellamy's word by word account of 310 00:21:24,242 --> 00:21:28,882 Speaker 3: how he wrote it. So case closed, right, Well, that 311 00:21:29,002 --> 00:21:30,162 Speaker 3: depends who you ask. 312 00:21:33,402 --> 00:21:38,042 Speaker 6: Francis Bellamy insisted that he wrote it in August eighteen 313 00:21:38,162 --> 00:21:42,242 Speaker 6: ninety two, had a very specific story about that, and 314 00:21:42,762 --> 00:21:47,682 Speaker 6: this is a crucial point. He swore out legal affidavits 315 00:21:48,202 --> 00:21:52,042 Speaker 6: telling a detailed story of how he originated it in 316 00:21:52,202 --> 00:21:55,562 Speaker 6: August eighteen ninety two. But the evidence that we now 317 00:21:55,642 --> 00:22:00,522 Speaker 6: have really suggests that he falsified the entire story. I 318 00:22:00,522 --> 00:22:05,442 Speaker 6: think it's impossible to read all the evidence and not conclude. 319 00:22:04,922 --> 00:22:10,842 Speaker 3: That turns out Bellamy's detailed story of a sweltering August night, 320 00:22:11,002 --> 00:22:15,082 Speaker 3: hunched over his desk with an impossible assignment, The arduous 321 00:22:15,082 --> 00:22:18,882 Speaker 3: search for the right words, the Eureka moment spurred by 322 00:22:18,962 --> 00:22:24,322 Speaker 3: patriotic reverence to the founding fathers, Well, it might all 323 00:22:24,362 --> 00:22:34,082 Speaker 3: be a big, fat lie. Cherryvale, Kansas, is a tiny 324 00:22:34,122 --> 00:22:38,122 Speaker 3: farming town about one hundred miles outside of Wichita, a 325 00:22:38,122 --> 00:22:42,162 Speaker 3: flat sea of corn stretching to the horizon. I'm assuming 326 00:22:42,482 --> 00:22:46,242 Speaker 3: I've never been. The year is eighteen ninety, a full 327 00:22:46,322 --> 00:22:49,842 Speaker 3: two years before Francis Bellamy says he wrote the Pledge 328 00:22:49,882 --> 00:22:53,522 Speaker 3: of Allegiance On a hot August night in eighteen ninety two. 329 00:22:54,522 --> 00:22:58,322 Speaker 3: In small town Cherryvale, the eighth grade teacher gives her 330 00:22:58,402 --> 00:23:02,402 Speaker 3: students an assignment. Like most of her students, the teacher 331 00:23:02,602 --> 00:23:06,602 Speaker 3: is an avid reader of the Youth's Companion, the magazine 332 00:23:06,642 --> 00:23:10,522 Speaker 3: bell And he works at. And the Companion has just 333 00:23:10,642 --> 00:23:14,522 Speaker 3: announced a writing contest for kids. They call it the 334 00:23:14,602 --> 00:23:19,162 Speaker 3: Flag and the Public Schools. The teacher encourages her students 335 00:23:19,162 --> 00:23:22,842 Speaker 3: to enter. She tells them to write a few sentences 336 00:23:22,962 --> 00:23:26,202 Speaker 3: expressing the thoughts that run through their heads when they 337 00:23:26,242 --> 00:23:30,562 Speaker 3: salute the American flag. One winning entry would be chosen 338 00:23:30,562 --> 00:23:34,522 Speaker 3: from each state, and along with bragging rights, their school 339 00:23:34,762 --> 00:23:40,202 Speaker 3: would get a shiny new American flag as a prize. 340 00:23:40,402 --> 00:23:43,522 Speaker 3: Not all of the eighth graders take the assignment seriously, 341 00:23:43,962 --> 00:23:49,162 Speaker 3: but Frank does. Frank is a naturally patriotic kit. He 342 00:23:49,362 --> 00:23:53,402 Speaker 3: likes to read stories about George Washington and the American Revolution. 343 00:23:54,162 --> 00:23:57,242 Speaker 3: The flag really means something to him. He wants to 344 00:23:57,242 --> 00:24:01,162 Speaker 3: become a soldier someday, but like any thirteen year old, 345 00:24:01,242 --> 00:24:04,682 Speaker 3: he struggles to find the right words to express his feelings. 346 00:24:05,522 --> 00:24:10,442 Speaker 3: After weeks of writeaceading, and rewriting, Frank finally has something 347 00:24:10,522 --> 00:24:14,882 Speaker 3: he's proud of. Before mailing his submission off to the magazine, 348 00:24:15,002 --> 00:24:18,082 Speaker 3: he reads it out loud to himself while saluting an 349 00:24:18,162 --> 00:24:19,962 Speaker 3: imaginary American flag. 350 00:24:20,602 --> 00:24:23,762 Speaker 4: I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for 351 00:24:23,842 --> 00:24:28,722 Speaker 4: which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice 352 00:24:28,762 --> 00:24:29,202 Speaker 4: for all. 353 00:24:30,642 --> 00:24:35,282 Speaker 3: Sound familiar. Keep in mind this is eighteen ninety in 354 00:24:35,402 --> 00:24:40,122 Speaker 3: Kansas and Frank is thirteen years old. Months go by, 355 00:24:40,282 --> 00:24:45,082 Speaker 3: but Frank doesn't hear anything from the Youth's companion. He's disappointed, 356 00:24:45,122 --> 00:24:48,762 Speaker 3: but figures the magazine must have received a ton of submissions. 357 00:24:49,322 --> 00:24:53,842 Speaker 3: Maybe his just wasn't good enough. More time passes two 358 00:24:54,002 --> 00:24:58,642 Speaker 3: years to be exact. Now it's eighteen ninety two. School 359 00:24:58,722 --> 00:25:02,682 Speaker 3: kids across the country are preparing for the national public 360 00:25:02,722 --> 00:25:08,362 Speaker 3: school celebration of Columbus Day. Frank is excited. He picks 361 00:25:08,442 --> 00:25:13,162 Speaker 3: up the official program published in The Youth's Companion, and 362 00:25:13,202 --> 00:25:19,602 Speaker 3: he can't believe his eyes. There it is the very 363 00:25:19,722 --> 00:25:23,242 Speaker 3: same pledge he wrote two years ago in eighth grade. 364 00:25:23,562 --> 00:25:28,242 Speaker 3: Word for word, Frank is blown away. How did this happen? 365 00:25:28,602 --> 00:25:31,962 Speaker 3: Did he win the contest but the magazine couldn't find him? 366 00:25:32,402 --> 00:25:36,442 Speaker 3: His own words are in a national magazine. But why 367 00:25:36,522 --> 00:25:39,842 Speaker 3: hadn't he heard from the Companion? There must have been 368 00:25:39,962 --> 00:25:43,922 Speaker 3: some kind of mistake. Frank rushes home after school and 369 00:25:44,082 --> 00:25:48,522 Speaker 3: writes a letter to The Youth's Companion explaining everything. How 370 00:25:48,562 --> 00:25:52,242 Speaker 3: he submitted his pledge for the contest two years ago, 371 00:25:52,562 --> 00:25:55,642 Speaker 3: how there must have been some confusion because no one 372 00:25:55,802 --> 00:25:59,282 Speaker 3: told him that he'd won. He couldn't wait to tell 373 00:25:59,362 --> 00:26:03,882 Speaker 3: his parents. They'd be so proud. A few weeks later, 374 00:26:04,042 --> 00:26:08,402 Speaker 3: a letter finally arrives from the magazine. Frank tears it open, 375 00:26:08,602 --> 00:26:10,842 Speaker 3: holding his breath as he reads the reply. 376 00:26:11,602 --> 00:26:14,482 Speaker 4: All essays, statements, or written matter submitted in this contest, 377 00:26:14,522 --> 00:26:19,562 Speaker 4: she'll remain and is the property of the Youth's Companion magazine. 378 00:26:19,762 --> 00:26:25,402 Speaker 3: What that's it? No congratulations, not even a flag. Didn't 379 00:26:25,402 --> 00:26:28,962 Speaker 3: they understand that he had written the pledge of allegiance. 380 00:26:30,002 --> 00:26:33,922 Speaker 3: That's the last that Frank hears from the Youth's Companion, 381 00:26:35,922 --> 00:26:39,522 Speaker 3: But despite his disappointment, he doesn't lose his love for 382 00:26:39,602 --> 00:26:43,242 Speaker 3: his country. In eighteen ninety eight, he achieves his dream 383 00:26:43,322 --> 00:26:46,722 Speaker 3: of becoming a soldier. He enlists in the army to 384 00:26:46,842 --> 00:26:50,882 Speaker 3: fight in the Spanish American War. While serving in the Philippines, 385 00:26:50,882 --> 00:26:55,562 Speaker 3: he contracts tuberculosis. Frank makes it home but never gets 386 00:26:55,602 --> 00:26:59,482 Speaker 3: his health back. It's a struggle, and he dies a 387 00:26:59,522 --> 00:27:04,082 Speaker 3: few months shy of his fortieth birthday. Frank is buried 388 00:27:04,122 --> 00:27:08,922 Speaker 3: in the Fairview Cemetery back in Cherryvale, Casas. His gravestone 389 00:27:09,122 --> 00:27:12,962 Speaker 3: says nothing about the pledge, just his service in the 390 00:27:13,002 --> 00:27:16,882 Speaker 3: war and his name, Frank Bellamy. 391 00:27:18,042 --> 00:27:21,042 Speaker 4: Hold on, hold on, hold on. This kid's name is 392 00:27:21,082 --> 00:27:25,802 Speaker 4: Frank Bellamy. Yep, as in Francis Bellamy. 393 00:27:26,162 --> 00:27:29,682 Speaker 3: Spelled exactly the same, but it's not. 394 00:27:29,762 --> 00:27:33,882 Speaker 4: The same person. Somehow, Frank isn't short for Francis. 395 00:27:34,402 --> 00:27:40,042 Speaker 3: Nope, Frank Bellamy is a completely different person than Francis Bellamy. 396 00:27:40,482 --> 00:27:44,682 Speaker 3: They're unrelated. They just happen to have the same name, 397 00:27:45,162 --> 00:27:48,802 Speaker 3: and they both claim that they wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. 398 00:27:49,402 --> 00:27:55,442 Speaker 3: That's insane, completely insane, but it's true. Just ask Fred Shapiro. 399 00:27:57,282 --> 00:28:02,682 Speaker 6: The story really gets astonishing when you mentioned Frank E. 400 00:28:02,842 --> 00:28:03,322 Speaker 5: Bellamy. 401 00:28:03,842 --> 00:28:08,642 Speaker 6: If you look in Kansas newspapers and Kansas Historical Society 402 00:28:09,002 --> 00:28:13,762 Speaker 6: website and resolutions that have been passed by the Kansas Legislature. 403 00:28:14,322 --> 00:28:18,802 Speaker 6: In Kansas, they have long believed that Frank E. Bellamy 404 00:28:19,282 --> 00:28:20,722 Speaker 6: wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. 405 00:28:21,602 --> 00:28:25,322 Speaker 3: Fred is the editor of the New Yale Book of Quotations, 406 00:28:25,642 --> 00:28:30,762 Speaker 3: and he is the authoritative source on who said what when. 407 00:28:31,642 --> 00:28:35,282 Speaker 3: As Fred correctly points out, the state of Kansas has 408 00:28:35,322 --> 00:28:40,442 Speaker 3: always backed a different Bellamy, thirteen year old Frank Elmer Bellamy, 409 00:28:40,922 --> 00:28:44,562 Speaker 3: as the true author of the Pledge of Allegiance. As 410 00:28:44,642 --> 00:28:49,442 Speaker 3: recently as twenty fourteen, the Kansas State Senate passed a 411 00:28:49,522 --> 00:28:55,562 Speaker 3: resolution to quote recognize and celebrate Cherryvale, Kansas, and Frank 412 00:28:55,642 --> 00:29:00,522 Speaker 3: Bellamy's authorship of the Pledge of Allegiance. In nineteen ninety six, 413 00:29:00,682 --> 00:29:05,122 Speaker 3: the citizens of Cherryvale erected a memorial with a photo 414 00:29:05,202 --> 00:29:09,882 Speaker 3: of Frank Bellamy. A small plaque explains how Frank, as 415 00:29:09,962 --> 00:29:15,042 Speaker 3: a school kid, composed the nation's best known patriotic statement. 416 00:29:15,802 --> 00:29:19,322 Speaker 3: But could it be true? Could an eighth grader from 417 00:29:19,402 --> 00:29:24,402 Speaker 3: Kansas have written the original pledge in eighteen ninety and 418 00:29:24,682 --> 00:29:29,802 Speaker 3: could Francis Bellamy and The Youth's Companion have stolen Frank's 419 00:29:29,842 --> 00:29:34,202 Speaker 3: pledge and claimed it as their own. Fred Shapiro thinks 420 00:29:34,282 --> 00:29:35,562 Speaker 3: it's possible. 421 00:29:37,602 --> 00:29:40,322 Speaker 6: They did have a contest. I've looked at the old 422 00:29:40,482 --> 00:29:44,562 Speaker 6: issues of The Youth's Companion. They definitely had a contest. 423 00:29:44,922 --> 00:29:47,842 Speaker 6: The core Frank Bellamy argument is that he sent it 424 00:29:47,882 --> 00:29:51,042 Speaker 6: in as part of this contest, which definitely did happen 425 00:29:51,122 --> 00:29:55,802 Speaker 6: with Youth's Companion. So the part of the anti Francis 426 00:29:55,802 --> 00:29:59,002 Speaker 6: Bellamy argument may be that if Frankie Bellamy did send 427 00:29:59,042 --> 00:30:04,402 Speaker 6: it in, that Francis spell Me plagiarized it and wouldn't 428 00:30:04,562 --> 00:30:10,042 Speaker 6: show anyone the original mission and later claimed it as 429 00:30:10,042 --> 00:30:15,602 Speaker 6: his own. That's the conspiracy theory to deny Frankie bell 430 00:30:15,682 --> 00:30:19,202 Speaker 6: and his priority if he was indeed the first. 431 00:30:21,522 --> 00:30:24,922 Speaker 3: And if it is a conspiracy theory, it's a pretty 432 00:30:25,002 --> 00:30:29,042 Speaker 3: juicy one. Big City Magazine guy steals credit for the 433 00:30:29,082 --> 00:30:32,442 Speaker 3: pledge of allegiance from farm Kit in Kansas, who has 434 00:30:32,442 --> 00:30:36,642 Speaker 3: the exact same name. But does this theory hold up 435 00:30:36,642 --> 00:30:40,682 Speaker 3: to scrutiny. To get some answers, let's take a closer 436 00:30:40,762 --> 00:30:43,962 Speaker 3: look at the writing contest held by the Youth's companion, 437 00:30:44,602 --> 00:30:48,962 Speaker 3: Fred Shapiro is right. In the January ninth, eighteen ninety 438 00:30:49,082 --> 00:30:52,402 Speaker 3: issue of the magazine, there's a call for submissions to 439 00:30:52,482 --> 00:30:57,202 Speaker 3: a contest called the Flag and the Public Schools. But 440 00:30:57,562 --> 00:31:01,242 Speaker 3: something is a little off. The description of the writing 441 00:31:01,322 --> 00:31:05,282 Speaker 3: contest given in the magazine is really different from the 442 00:31:05,322 --> 00:31:10,242 Speaker 3: assignment supposedly given by Frank's teacher. The ad in the 443 00:31:10,282 --> 00:31:11,642 Speaker 3: magazine says. 444 00:31:12,082 --> 00:31:14,882 Speaker 7: Students are invited to write an essay of not more 445 00:31:14,922 --> 00:31:18,082 Speaker 7: than six hundred words in length on the patriotic influence 446 00:31:18,082 --> 00:31:21,602 Speaker 7: of the American flag when raised over the public schools. 447 00:31:22,562 --> 00:31:27,042 Speaker 3: Huh okay. This is very clearly an essay contest with 448 00:31:27,242 --> 00:31:30,562 Speaker 3: a six hundred word limit. It seems a little weird 449 00:31:30,602 --> 00:31:33,762 Speaker 3: that Frank Bellamy would have submitted a single twenty three 450 00:31:33,802 --> 00:31:38,082 Speaker 3: word sentence. To be fair, maybe the pledge portion was 451 00:31:38,122 --> 00:31:41,322 Speaker 3: a part of a longer essay about the importance of 452 00:31:41,362 --> 00:31:46,162 Speaker 3: flags in schools. We don't know. Unfortunately, there are no 453 00:31:46,362 --> 00:31:50,922 Speaker 3: documents or other tangible proof that Frank Bellamy ever submitted 454 00:31:50,962 --> 00:31:56,642 Speaker 3: a pledge to the Youth's Companion in eighteen ninety fast 455 00:31:56,682 --> 00:31:59,962 Speaker 3: forward to nineteen fifty seven. Believe it or not, the 456 00:32:00,002 --> 00:32:03,442 Speaker 3: Library of Congress decided to get to the bottom of this. 457 00:32:03,962 --> 00:32:08,402 Speaker 3: They assigned a researcher to investigate the various authorship claims 458 00:32:08,442 --> 00:32:12,362 Speaker 3: for the pledge of allegiance. James Upham, Bellamy's boss, was 459 00:32:12,442 --> 00:32:14,642 Speaker 3: also in the running, but we don't have time to 460 00:32:14,682 --> 00:32:19,282 Speaker 3: fall down that particular rabbit hole. The Library of Congress investigation, 461 00:32:19,602 --> 00:32:23,042 Speaker 3: all one hundred and forty eight pages of it, concluded 462 00:32:23,242 --> 00:32:27,642 Speaker 3: that the most likely author of the pledge was Francis 463 00:32:27,802 --> 00:32:32,322 Speaker 3: Bellamy of the Youth's Companion. While the report acknowledged some 464 00:32:32,602 --> 00:32:36,722 Speaker 3: doubts about Bellamy's account, it decided, quote. 465 00:32:36,802 --> 00:32:40,242 Speaker 5: Unless one is prepared to believe that Francis Bellamy was 466 00:32:40,282 --> 00:32:44,402 Speaker 5: a deliberate and consciousless liar, the mass of his testimony 467 00:32:44,522 --> 00:32:46,322 Speaker 5: is overwhelmingly in his favor. 468 00:32:47,922 --> 00:32:51,442 Speaker 3: So where does that leave little Frank Bellamy? In a 469 00:32:51,482 --> 00:32:56,242 Speaker 3: short paragraph in the report, the Library of Congress dismissed 470 00:32:56,362 --> 00:32:59,682 Speaker 3: the kid from Kansas as nothing more than a plagiarist. 471 00:33:00,322 --> 00:33:04,682 Speaker 3: It alleged that Frank quote lifted the text from the 472 00:33:04,722 --> 00:33:08,322 Speaker 3: Columbus Day Program and attempted to claim it as his own. 473 00:33:08,842 --> 00:33:13,402 Speaker 3: So much for Frank E. Bellamy, it seemed. But remember 474 00:33:13,562 --> 00:33:17,922 Speaker 3: the Library of Congress report was written in nineteen fifty seven. 475 00:33:18,562 --> 00:33:22,282 Speaker 3: That was sixty seven years ago. Would you believe that 476 00:33:22,522 --> 00:33:26,442 Speaker 3: new evidence has come to light that puts young Frank 477 00:33:26,522 --> 00:33:32,002 Speaker 3: Bellamy back in the running. A few minutes ago, I 478 00:33:32,042 --> 00:33:36,762 Speaker 3: said there were no surviving documents that corroborated Frank Bellamy's 479 00:33:36,842 --> 00:33:40,242 Speaker 3: story that he wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in eighteen 480 00:33:40,362 --> 00:33:44,802 Speaker 3: ninety while a school kid in Kansas. That's not quite 481 00:33:45,002 --> 00:33:46,042 Speaker 3: the case anymore. 482 00:33:47,082 --> 00:33:54,842 Speaker 6: Barry Popic is a retired attorney who has done fantastic 483 00:33:55,162 --> 00:34:01,242 Speaker 6: research on all kinds of questions of priority origination for 484 00:34:01,802 --> 00:34:08,442 Speaker 6: American history. Barry is probably the greatest NewSpace paper researcher 485 00:34:08,522 --> 00:34:11,762 Speaker 6: in the world, and this is a fantastic discovery and 486 00:34:11,882 --> 00:34:12,442 Speaker 6: his part. 487 00:34:13,642 --> 00:34:18,082 Speaker 3: In twenty twenty two, Barry Poppeck was searching newspapers dot 488 00:34:18,122 --> 00:34:21,642 Speaker 3: com for the earliest published mention of the Pledge of 489 00:34:21,682 --> 00:34:27,882 Speaker 3: Allegiance when he made a wild discovery. On May twenty first, 490 00:34:28,002 --> 00:34:32,642 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety two, a Kansas newspaper called the Ellis County 491 00:34:32,722 --> 00:34:37,482 Speaker 3: Republican ran a tiny story on page four. It's a 492 00:34:37,562 --> 00:34:41,202 Speaker 3: dispatch from the nearby town of Victoria, Kansas. 493 00:34:41,722 --> 00:34:45,282 Speaker 8: It reads, on April thirtieth, our schools closed with a 494 00:34:45,402 --> 00:34:48,762 Speaker 8: flag raising. The pupils had been drilled to make a 495 00:34:48,802 --> 00:34:52,802 Speaker 8: military salute and to repeat the following words while holding 496 00:34:52,842 --> 00:34:56,402 Speaker 8: the hand at arm's length toward the flag. I pledge 497 00:34:56,442 --> 00:35:00,322 Speaker 8: allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, 498 00:35:00,842 --> 00:35:06,562 Speaker 8: one nation inseparable with liberty and justice for all. 499 00:35:07,522 --> 00:35:12,242 Speaker 3: Francis Bellamy, the adult magazine editor, swore up and down 500 00:35:12,442 --> 00:35:15,962 Speaker 3: that he wrote the pledge of allegiance in August of 501 00:35:16,002 --> 00:35:21,122 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety two. He literally swore multiple legal affidavits to 502 00:35:21,162 --> 00:35:26,282 Speaker 3: that effect. But here, buried in a small town Kansas 503 00:35:26,322 --> 00:35:32,202 Speaker 3: newspaper is irrefutable proof that he didn't. The article says 504 00:35:32,282 --> 00:35:36,322 Speaker 3: that on April thirtieth, eighteen ninety two, school kids in 505 00:35:36,402 --> 00:35:42,322 Speaker 3: Kansas recited an almost identical pledge that's more than three 506 00:35:42,442 --> 00:35:46,802 Speaker 3: months before Francis Bellamy says that he wrote the pledge. 507 00:35:47,202 --> 00:35:50,242 Speaker 3: Who could forget to quote that August night with the 508 00:35:50,242 --> 00:35:53,882 Speaker 3: cooling Boston Sea breeze coming softly through the open window 509 00:35:53,962 --> 00:35:58,882 Speaker 3: of my room. What's more, the only difference between Bellamy's 510 00:35:58,922 --> 00:36:01,842 Speaker 3: pledge and the one that predates it in a Kansas 511 00:36:01,882 --> 00:36:07,442 Speaker 3: newspaper is a single word inseparable instead of india visible. 512 00:36:08,282 --> 00:36:11,642 Speaker 6: How do we explain the fact that the exact same 513 00:36:11,722 --> 00:36:16,962 Speaker 6: words virtually appeared several months earlier in a Kansas newspaper. 514 00:36:17,282 --> 00:36:20,882 Speaker 6: And the thing is in his affidavits, Francis belling me. 515 00:36:21,402 --> 00:36:23,962 Speaker 6: He didn't just say yeah, I think I wrote it 516 00:36:24,002 --> 00:36:27,762 Speaker 6: in eighteen ninety two. He told us very specific story 517 00:36:27,802 --> 00:36:30,442 Speaker 6: where his boss asked him to come up with a 518 00:36:30,522 --> 00:36:33,202 Speaker 6: pledge and he sat down and it was a hot 519 00:36:33,362 --> 00:36:36,442 Speaker 6: day in August. This is not just a question of dates. 520 00:36:36,802 --> 00:36:41,442 Speaker 6: This affects the question of authorship. How could Francis Beelmy 521 00:36:41,562 --> 00:36:42,362 Speaker 6: be the author? 522 00:36:43,682 --> 00:36:47,442 Speaker 3: Good question, Fred, I've got another one for you. This 523 00:36:47,602 --> 00:36:52,042 Speaker 3: article was published in a small town Kansas newspaper. You 524 00:36:52,042 --> 00:36:54,762 Speaker 3: know who else was from a small town in Kansas. 525 00:36:55,562 --> 00:36:59,602 Speaker 3: After all this time, after being ignored by the youth's 526 00:36:59,642 --> 00:37:04,562 Speaker 3: companion and being labeled a pleagiarist by the Library of Congress, 527 00:37:05,202 --> 00:37:09,442 Speaker 3: could thirteen year old Frank E. Bellamy from Cherry Vale, 528 00:37:09,562 --> 00:37:14,442 Speaker 3: Kansas have been telling the truth. Did a kid really 529 00:37:14,522 --> 00:37:16,522 Speaker 3: write the Pledge of Allegiance? 530 00:37:17,762 --> 00:37:21,402 Speaker 6: I can't say that Frankie Bellamy was the originator, but 531 00:37:21,522 --> 00:37:23,522 Speaker 6: he may have been. The fact that he was the 532 00:37:23,562 --> 00:37:27,002 Speaker 6: only person from Kansas, and that this this strong link 533 00:37:27,282 --> 00:37:31,922 Speaker 6: with Kansas, suggests that he may have been the author. 534 00:37:33,882 --> 00:37:37,282 Speaker 3: In a few years, Fred plans to publish a revised 535 00:37:37,322 --> 00:37:41,082 Speaker 3: and updated edition of the New Yale's Book of Quotations. 536 00:37:41,882 --> 00:37:44,162 Speaker 3: He's still on the fence about what to do with 537 00:37:44,282 --> 00:37:48,042 Speaker 3: the entry for the Pledge of Allegiance. He always attributed 538 00:37:48,082 --> 00:37:52,642 Speaker 3: it to Francis Bellamy, editor at the Youth's Companion, just 539 00:37:52,842 --> 00:37:57,962 Speaker 3: like everybody else. Now Fred is considering changing the author 540 00:37:58,082 --> 00:38:03,722 Speaker 3: to anonymous. A long forgotten article in a long forgotten 541 00:38:03,802 --> 00:38:09,922 Speaker 3: Kansas newspaper has called everything into question. Fred can't read 542 00:38:10,082 --> 00:38:15,242 Speaker 3: Francis Bellamy's overwrought descriptions of that hot August night in 543 00:38:15,362 --> 00:38:21,202 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety two, the overflowing waste paper basket, Bellamy racking 544 00:38:21,242 --> 00:38:25,442 Speaker 3: his brains for inspiration, the words finally coming to him 545 00:38:25,762 --> 00:38:31,882 Speaker 3: one by one, each imbued with immense patriotic significance. Fred 546 00:38:31,962 --> 00:38:35,202 Speaker 3: can't read all of that without wondering, was it an 547 00:38:35,282 --> 00:38:40,322 Speaker 3: elaborate fiction. Did Francis Bellamy make the whole story up? 548 00:38:40,882 --> 00:38:45,602 Speaker 3: And if so, who really wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. 549 00:38:47,322 --> 00:38:50,922 Speaker 6: It's a complex story. I can't say for sure who 550 00:38:51,362 --> 00:38:54,162 Speaker 6: the author was, but I do feel that I can 551 00:38:54,242 --> 00:38:59,002 Speaker 6: say that it was not Francis Bellamy, and that it 552 00:38:59,042 --> 00:39:05,042 Speaker 6: appears to me that he essentially fabricated a detailed story 553 00:39:05,402 --> 00:39:08,682 Speaker 6: of how he wrote it, which was not accurate. 554 00:39:10,402 --> 00:39:14,802 Speaker 3: Today, in schools across America, kids start each day by 555 00:39:14,842 --> 00:39:19,722 Speaker 3: standing up, hand over heart and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. 556 00:39:20,762 --> 00:39:24,402 Speaker 9: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States 557 00:39:24,402 --> 00:39:28,242 Speaker 9: of America, and do the Republic for which it stands, 558 00:39:28,562 --> 00:39:34,402 Speaker 9: one nationship under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. 559 00:39:34,482 --> 00:39:37,442 Speaker 3: The Pledge has gone through some changes since it debuted 560 00:39:37,562 --> 00:39:40,522 Speaker 3: more than one hundred and thirty years ago. The biggest 561 00:39:40,682 --> 00:39:45,122 Speaker 3: was the addition of under God. That was President Dwight D. 562 00:39:45,202 --> 00:39:49,082 Speaker 3: Eisenhower's idea. He wanted to stick it to those godless 563 00:39:49,162 --> 00:39:53,242 Speaker 3: commis in the Soviet Union, so under God was added 564 00:39:53,322 --> 00:39:57,122 Speaker 3: in nineteen fifty four. But despite a few new words, 565 00:39:57,202 --> 00:39:59,962 Speaker 3: the job of the Pledge is still very much the 566 00:40:00,042 --> 00:40:04,082 Speaker 3: same as it was in eighteen ninety two to instill 567 00:40:04,202 --> 00:40:08,922 Speaker 3: a spirit of patriotism in the next generation. Meanwhile, we're 568 00:40:08,962 --> 00:40:12,362 Speaker 3: still arguing about what it means to be an American 569 00:40:13,242 --> 00:40:16,362 Speaker 3: until we find an answer, We'll keep saying the Pledge. 570 00:40:16,922 --> 00:40:20,682 Speaker 3: We'll probably never know who really wrote it, but we 571 00:40:20,722 --> 00:40:24,202 Speaker 3: can take its message to heart. Wouldn't it be nice 572 00:40:24,282 --> 00:40:29,322 Speaker 3: if this nation was a little less divided and more indivisible, 573 00:40:29,762 --> 00:40:34,082 Speaker 3: and that liberty and justice were truly for all. One 574 00:40:34,122 --> 00:40:38,482 Speaker 3: of those Bellamy boys was onto something, unless, of course, 575 00:40:38,722 --> 00:40:43,602 Speaker 3: they were both liars. Okay, Saren, I feel like you 576 00:40:43,802 --> 00:40:46,602 Speaker 3: already have casting in mind for this one. Yes, our 577 00:40:46,642 --> 00:40:47,962 Speaker 3: go to casting director. 578 00:40:48,442 --> 00:40:50,202 Speaker 1: You are one hundred percent right. I'm going to put 579 00:40:50,202 --> 00:40:52,442 Speaker 1: on my Hollywood hat for a second. Okay, imagine the 580 00:40:52,482 --> 00:40:54,682 Speaker 1: movie version of this you go to see it, because 581 00:40:54,802 --> 00:40:57,402 Speaker 1: on the poster and in the trailers you have as 582 00:40:57,442 --> 00:41:00,762 Speaker 1: Frank Bellamy, the older one, the adult Paul Rudd, and 583 00:41:00,842 --> 00:41:03,602 Speaker 1: as Kid Bellamy, it's the kid from Young Sheldon. 584 00:41:05,642 --> 00:41:06,882 Speaker 3: Yeah, get Young Sheldon here. 585 00:41:07,162 --> 00:41:09,442 Speaker 1: That's perfect, right, He's got the vibe you want for this. 586 00:41:10,362 --> 00:41:13,562 Speaker 3: Yeah, a little poem writing child, perfect. 587 00:41:13,282 --> 00:41:16,562 Speaker 1: Totally sensitive, loves America. He's in the heartland, looks good 588 00:41:16,602 --> 00:41:20,242 Speaker 1: in a bow tie exactly. Little Geeky really cares. 589 00:41:20,562 --> 00:41:24,282 Speaker 4: I'd see that movie. I would also see the off 590 00:41:24,322 --> 00:41:28,122 Speaker 4: Broadway play version where one person plays both Frank and 591 00:41:28,242 --> 00:41:31,122 Speaker 4: young Frank Bellamy and you just kind of go with 592 00:41:31,202 --> 00:41:38,282 Speaker 4: it and and lean into the insanity that they both yes, yes, 593 00:41:38,442 --> 00:41:43,682 Speaker 4: and if he's unavailable, Paul Dano, it's perfect. How about 594 00:41:43,802 --> 00:41:48,322 Speaker 4: very special character? Did anyone jump out at you to 595 00:41:48,322 --> 00:41:52,402 Speaker 4: to anoint this episode? I'm gonna throw out Fred Shapiro 596 00:41:52,842 --> 00:41:56,722 Speaker 4: while you're thinking yes, from the Book of Quotations, because 597 00:41:57,602 --> 00:42:01,962 Speaker 4: keeping this alive one hundred thirty years later, good for him, 598 00:42:02,162 --> 00:42:03,962 Speaker 4: giving us a nice hook to bring it back to 599 00:42:04,362 --> 00:42:05,402 Speaker 4: the present day as well. 600 00:42:06,002 --> 00:42:08,962 Speaker 1: And he's like the snow dot Com of quotes. We 601 00:42:09,042 --> 00:42:10,722 Speaker 1: need people like him to make sure we get these 602 00:42:10,762 --> 00:42:13,122 Speaker 1: things right. It's like, Okay, here's the real story people. 603 00:42:13,402 --> 00:42:14,602 Speaker 1: Did you know Dana? Do you do you have one? 604 00:42:14,602 --> 00:42:16,362 Speaker 1: Because I have one? But it's a little bit of 605 00:42:16,362 --> 00:42:16,842 Speaker 1: a theory. 606 00:42:17,602 --> 00:42:18,882 Speaker 3: I want your theory please. 607 00:42:18,962 --> 00:42:22,522 Speaker 1: Okay. Mine is the anonymous woman who I believe actually 608 00:42:22,562 --> 00:42:24,882 Speaker 1: wrote this pledge. And you're wondering, Zaren, I didn't hear 609 00:42:24,882 --> 00:42:26,642 Speaker 1: any woman in this Where are you coming with this? 610 00:42:26,802 --> 00:42:26,962 Speaker 7: Right? 611 00:42:27,202 --> 00:42:31,442 Speaker 1: Wow, here's how it goes ready. I think both Bellamies 612 00:42:31,442 --> 00:42:34,402 Speaker 1: were plagiarists because the adult Frank Bellamy clearly he played 613 00:42:34,442 --> 00:42:37,122 Speaker 1: dress from kid Bellamy and Kansas right. But the newspapers 614 00:42:37,122 --> 00:42:40,322 Speaker 1: dot com guy, he finds it two years earlier than that. 615 00:42:40,442 --> 00:42:43,362 Speaker 1: Kid Bellamy apparently allegedly wrote his pledge of allegiance in 616 00:42:43,402 --> 00:42:46,402 Speaker 1: a nearby town in Kansas. Right now, imagine a school 617 00:42:46,442 --> 00:42:48,802 Speaker 1: marm is going between these two towns. She's the one 618 00:42:48,802 --> 00:42:51,842 Speaker 1: who wrote the pledge of allegiance. She teaches these Kansas kids. 619 00:42:52,042 --> 00:42:55,722 Speaker 1: One day, Kid Bellamy sees the contest, he pilfers her pledge. 620 00:42:55,762 --> 00:42:58,202 Speaker 1: She sends it in. Editor Frank Bellamy's like, oh this 621 00:42:58,242 --> 00:43:01,322 Speaker 1: is amazing. He pilfers it from the kid. Both Bellambi's 622 00:43:01,362 --> 00:43:04,042 Speaker 1: they steal the pledge of allegiance from some anonymous school 623 00:43:04,042 --> 00:43:06,842 Speaker 1: marm in Kansas. It's like Virginia Wolf's goold quote about 624 00:43:07,002 --> 00:43:09,082 Speaker 1: the women, which is you know, for most of history 625 00:43:09,122 --> 00:43:11,642 Speaker 1: anonymous was a woman. Did you point out, Jason the 626 00:43:11,682 --> 00:43:14,082 Speaker 1: Yale Book of Quotations they were going to consider listing 627 00:43:14,162 --> 00:43:16,482 Speaker 1: dude is anonymous, And I think dude is a woman 628 00:43:16,722 --> 00:43:19,322 Speaker 1: because it's anonymous. I bet a woman wrote it. That's 629 00:43:19,362 --> 00:43:19,842 Speaker 1: my theory. 630 00:43:20,082 --> 00:43:22,642 Speaker 3: I love this theory. And just a round of applause 631 00:43:22,682 --> 00:43:24,962 Speaker 3: on behalf of all women. 632 00:43:25,082 --> 00:43:25,482 Speaker 5: Thank you. 633 00:43:26,202 --> 00:43:27,922 Speaker 4: I would have Elizabeth Moss play that. 634 00:43:27,922 --> 00:43:30,522 Speaker 3: Woman in our film, Yes amazing. 635 00:43:30,922 --> 00:43:34,202 Speaker 4: One other quick thing that came to mind while listening 636 00:43:34,242 --> 00:43:38,562 Speaker 4: to this one. We've talked about my dated cultural references 637 00:43:38,682 --> 00:43:43,042 Speaker 4: in the past. The Sports Illustrated football phone was a 638 00:43:43,042 --> 00:43:45,922 Speaker 4: big one growing up, and commercials they would try to 639 00:43:46,122 --> 00:43:50,202 Speaker 4: get people to subscribe to Sports Illustrated by promising this 640 00:43:50,642 --> 00:43:54,802 Speaker 4: phone that looked like a football in this story, like 641 00:43:54,842 --> 00:43:58,962 Speaker 4: the American flag is the original football? 642 00:43:59,682 --> 00:44:03,522 Speaker 1: Og football phone? Oh my god, good connection. Wow. 643 00:44:03,642 --> 00:44:03,842 Speaker 5: Yeah. 644 00:44:04,122 --> 00:44:06,882 Speaker 1: It was such like a leveraged buy for the schools too. 645 00:44:07,082 --> 00:44:08,842 Speaker 1: I mean like it's like, there, let's get these kids 646 00:44:08,882 --> 00:44:11,482 Speaker 1: out there. It's like pushing the chocolate bars. It's like, though, 647 00:44:11,522 --> 00:44:13,042 Speaker 1: like these kids, how are you gonna say no to 648 00:44:13,082 --> 00:44:16,322 Speaker 1: a kid? Let's make him part of capitalism now, Jason, 649 00:44:16,322 --> 00:44:18,682 Speaker 1: are you upset about the death of Sports Illustrated? 650 00:44:18,842 --> 00:44:23,162 Speaker 4: I mean I'm upset whenever I hear the entire publications 651 00:44:23,162 --> 00:44:26,962 Speaker 4: are laying off all their staff. Just uh, just a 652 00:44:28,042 --> 00:44:30,162 Speaker 4: very sad. It feels like it's a little bit of 653 00:44:30,202 --> 00:44:34,082 Speaker 4: a long time coming. It's been a slow death, uh 654 00:44:34,282 --> 00:44:37,482 Speaker 4: time and time again, so hopefully they get back on 655 00:44:37,522 --> 00:44:40,002 Speaker 4: their feet sometime. I'm worried it's gonna be like Toys 656 00:44:40,122 --> 00:44:43,882 Speaker 4: r Us which like nine years ago. They bring it 657 00:44:43,922 --> 00:44:46,602 Speaker 4: back every year and there's some now it's like it's 658 00:44:46,602 --> 00:44:49,882 Speaker 4: in a corner of Macy's or it's there's one store 659 00:44:50,042 --> 00:44:54,242 Speaker 4: and one mall in Houston and uh so, yes, I 660 00:44:54,282 --> 00:44:56,762 Speaker 4: would say it was always in my house growing up 661 00:44:56,802 --> 00:44:59,042 Speaker 4: as a kid. We didn't have a football phone though. 662 00:44:58,962 --> 00:44:59,242 Speaker 5: I see. 663 00:44:59,362 --> 00:45:00,962 Speaker 1: I think that's the mistake. They need to bring back 664 00:45:00,962 --> 00:45:03,242 Speaker 1: the football phone or whatever would be the modern equivalent. 665 00:45:03,282 --> 00:45:05,962 Speaker 1: That's going to save SI because they had the flag boom, 666 00:45:05,962 --> 00:45:06,882 Speaker 1: we need a football phone. 667 00:45:07,962 --> 00:45:11,602 Speaker 4: I think that wraps it up for another very special episode. 668 00:45:11,762 --> 00:45:12,642 Speaker 3: Thanks for listening. 669 00:45:14,162 --> 00:45:17,442 Speaker 4: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 670 00:45:18,042 --> 00:45:22,122 Speaker 4: This episode was written by Dave Rouse. Our producer is 671 00:45:22,242 --> 00:45:28,482 Speaker 4: Josh Fisher. Editing and sound design by Jonathan Washington, Mixing 672 00:45:28,522 --> 00:45:33,042 Speaker 4: and mastering by Beheid Fraser. Very Special Episodes is hosted 673 00:45:33,042 --> 00:45:38,802 Speaker 4: by Danish Schwartz, Zaren Burnette and me Jason English. Original 674 00:45:38,922 --> 00:45:43,722 Speaker 4: music by Elise McCoy. Our story editor is Aaron Edwards. 675 00:45:45,002 --> 00:45:49,562 Speaker 4: Research in fact checking by Austin Thompson. Show logo by 676 00:45:49,642 --> 00:45:54,202 Speaker 4: Lucy Quintania. I'd like to thank our excellent voice actors, 677 00:45:54,522 --> 00:45:58,762 Speaker 4: especially two of my three daughters, Kate and Juliette English. 678 00:45:59,122 --> 00:46:03,042 Speaker 4: We couldn't meet Charlotte's asking price, but good work Kate 679 00:46:03,082 --> 00:46:05,762 Speaker 4: and Juliette. And today is Juliette's birthday. 680 00:46:06,042 --> 00:46:07,082 Speaker 1: Happy Birthday. 681 00:46:07,562 --> 00:46:10,122 Speaker 4: No better way to spend your birthday than reading the 682 00:46:10,122 --> 00:46:14,282 Speaker 4: Pledge of Allegiance multiple times into a podcast microphone. So 683 00:46:15,242 --> 00:46:22,522 Speaker 4: Special Day, Very Special Episodes is a production of iHeart Podcasts.