1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class as a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: a show that flips through the pages of history to 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: deliver old news in a new way. I'm Gay Bluesier 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,159 Speaker 1: and in this episode, we're talking about the origin of 6 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: the Pledge of Allegiance and how the addition of two 7 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 1: little words stirred up a big controversy. The day was 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: June four, nineteen fifty four. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: a bill to add the words under God to the 10 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: US Pledge of Allegiance. This amended version of the pledge 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: is still regularly recited at schools and at public events 12 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: as a demonstration of loyalty and devotion. But what was 13 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: the initial intention behind the pledge, why was era push 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: to change it in the nineteen fifties, and how did 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: that change affect the original meaning. The original version of 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: the pledge was written in eighteen ninety two by a 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: Baptist minister from New York named Francis Bellamy. As a 18 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: self described Christian socialist, Bellamy often preached against the sin 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: of greed, which he saw as the nation's primary threat 20 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: at the turn of the twentieth century. The economic divide 21 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: between the wealthy and the working class had grown larger 22 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: and larger during the Gilded Age, creating a sense of 23 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: every man for himself. Bellamy watched this growing divide with trepidation. 24 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: He feared his country was losing its way, that it 25 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: was abandoning its promise of equal opportunity and favor of 26 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: self promotion and unbridled capitalism. Bellamy sought to counter that 27 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: message by rekindling a sense of unity and patriotism among 28 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: his fellow citizens. One of the ways he hoped to 29 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: achieve that was by establishing a national ritual observance of 30 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: the American flag in public schools. In eighteen ninety one, 31 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,359 Speaker 1: his goal aligned with that of The Youth's Companion magazine, 32 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: a Boston publication with about half a million readers. The 33 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: magazine hired Bellamy to help with a pr campaign commemorating 34 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: the four hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. 35 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: The magazine wanted to use that occasion to promote the 36 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: use of the American flag in schools, and it was 37 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: for this reason that Bellamy penned his pledge to the Flag. 38 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: The article was published in September of eighteen ninety two, 39 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: where the pledge appeared as follows, I pledge allegiance to 40 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, 41 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: with liberty and justice for all. You'll notice that, unlike 42 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: the modern pledge, Bellamy's original made no mention of God 43 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: or even the United States of America. That's because Bellamy's 44 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: aim was to unite the nation, and he believed a 45 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: more secular form of patriotism would cast a wider net. 46 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: As for admitting the name of the country. That was 47 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: likely so that the pledge could be adopted by citizens 48 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: of other nations who were also trying to combat the 49 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: threat of greed. However, over the next half century or so, 50 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: several alterations were made to Bellamy's pledge. My flag became 51 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: the flag of the United States of America, and the 52 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: preposition too was added before the Republic, though no one 53 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: raised much fuss about that one. Then, in the late 54 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, a movement began to add the phrase under 55 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: God to the pledge. One of the strongest promoters of 56 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: the change were the Knights of Columbus, a global fraternal 57 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: orderer of Catholics. Members had begun reciting the phrase as 58 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: part of the flag pledge they made at each meeting, 59 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: and in the early nineteen fifties they began sending letters 60 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: to just about every member of Congress suggesting that under 61 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: God be added to the pledge. Officially, the Knights of 62 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: Columbus and other like minded Americans justified this change by 63 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: pointing out that Abraham Lincoln had used the phrase himself 64 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: during his Gettysburg address. They argued that the phrase one 65 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: Nation under God set the US apart from other nations, 66 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: and that by echoing it, citizens would reaffirm the unique 67 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: religious conception of their nation. Several Congressmen on both sides 68 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,280 Speaker 1: of the aisle were swayed by the argument. They sponsored 69 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: various resolutions to add the words to the pledge, but 70 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: these early measures failed to win enough support in Congress. However, 71 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: thanks to a new president and to his newfound religion, 72 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: that was about to change. By most accounts, Dwight D. I. 73 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: Senhauer was raised as a Mennonite, but later disavowed his 74 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: family's religion shortly before enlisting in the army. It wasn't 75 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: until February of nineteen fifty three that Eisenhower would return 76 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: to religion, this time as a Presbyterian. He was baptized 77 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: just ten days after being sworn in as president, and 78 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't long after that that he heard a sermon 79 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: arguing in favor of adding under God to the Pledge. 80 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: Eisenhower learned of the campaign by the Knights of Columbus 81 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: to amend the Pledge, and in nineteen fifty four he 82 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: encouraged Republican Congressman Charles Oakman to reintroduce the bill to 83 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: Congress with a promise of the President's support. The bill 84 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: was easily passed, and Eisenhower signed it into law on 85 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: June fourteenth, which was appropriately enough Flag Day. The new 86 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: version of the pledge, as recorded in the nation's Flag 87 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: Code Law, reads as follows. I pledge allegiance to the 88 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: Flag of the United Ided States of America and to 89 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: the Republic, for which it stands, One Nation under God, 90 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The president's recent 91 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: embrace of religion certainly played a role in his support 92 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: of the bill, but it wasn't the only factor. At 93 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 1: the time. On the eve of the Cold War, the 94 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: growing threat of communism was a major concern for the administration. 95 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: Eisenhower felt that adding under God to the pledge would 96 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: draw a clear line between god fearing capitalist Americans and 97 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: their godless communist enemies abroad. The President made this intention 98 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: clear and the statement he released upon signing the bill, 99 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: it said, quote from this day forward, the millions of 100 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, 101 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation 102 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly 103 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate 104 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: this rededication of our youth on each school morning to 105 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: our country's true meaning. Especially is this meaningful as we 106 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: regard today's world. Over the globe, mankind has been cruelly 107 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: torn by violence and brutality, and by the millions deadened 108 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: in mind and soul by materialistic philosophy of life. Man 109 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: everywhere is appalled by the prospect of atomic war. In 110 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: this somber setting, this law and its effects today have 111 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: profound meaning. In this way, we are reaffirming the transcendence 112 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: of religious faith in America's heritage and future. In this way, 113 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will 114 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: be our country's most powerful resource, in peace or in war. 115 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: As you might imagine, there were quite a few people 116 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: who didn't share Eisenhower's convictions. Among them was one of 117 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: Francis Bellamy's daughters. She publicly objected to the alteration, claiming 118 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: that it undermined the unifying intent of her father's pledge 119 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: by leaving out those of differing religions or no religion 120 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: at all. Other Americans took issue with the phrase on 121 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: the grounds of separation of church and state. A heated 122 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: political discussion quickly ensued, and in some corners it continues 123 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: to this day. Eisenhower, however, had already made up his mind, 124 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: and the very next year he doubled down on using 125 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: what he called spiritual weapons. On Flag Day nineteen fifty four, 126 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: he signed a law declaring in God we Trust to 127 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: be the nation's official motto and calling for the phrase 128 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: to be added to all US paper currency. Whether Eisenhower 129 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: was right to make these additions is still a matter 130 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: of public debate, but if nothing else, they definitely made 131 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: him the most popular member of his church. I mean, 132 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: talk about showing off. I'm Gabe Blusier, and hopefully you 133 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 134 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with the show, 135 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,839 Speaker 1: you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 136 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: t d i HC Show, and if you have any 137 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, you can always send them my way 138 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: at this Day at I heart media dot com. Special 139 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: thanks to guest producers Joey Patt and Casey Pegrum, and 140 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,319 Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back here 141 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History class.