Francis Bellamy (May 18, 1855-August 28, 1931) was a minister from Boston who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. He was ordained in the Baptist Church, 1879, and served as the pastor of the First Baptist Church, Little Falls, New York. He was a member of the staff of The Youth's Companion, which first published his Pledge of Allegiance on September 8, 1892. At the dedication of the 1892 Chicago World's Fair, October 12, 1892, public school children first recited the Pledge of Allegiance during the:
<National School Celebration on the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America.> 1855FB001
The Pledge was adopted by the 79th Congress on December 28, 1945, as Public Law 287. The words "under God," taken from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, "...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth..," were added to the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, by a Joint Resolution of Congress, 243 (Public Law 83-396).
President Dwight Eisenhower signed the pledge into law:
<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.> 1855FB002
President Eisenhower gave his support to the Congressional Act, which added the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, saying:
<In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war.> 1855FB003
President Eisenhower then stood on the steps of the Capitol Building and recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time with the phrase:
<One Nation under God.> 1855FB004
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1855FB001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Francis Bellamy, September 8, 1892, Pledge of Allegiance. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 677. The World Book Encyclopedia, 18 vols. (Chicago, IL: Field Enterprises, Inc., 1957; W.F. Quarrie and Company, 8 vols., 1917; World Book, Inc., 22 vols., 1989), Vol. 13, p. 6419.
1855FB002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Francis Bellamy, June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed House Joint Resolution 243 into law as Public Law 83-396, which added Abraham Lincoln's phrase from the Gettysburg Address, "under God," to the Pledge of Allegiance (Public Law 287); the Pledge was originally adopted by the 79th Congress on December 28, 1945, as Public Law 287. The World Book Encyclopedia 20 vols. (Chicago, IL: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1970; W.F. Quarrie and Company, 8 vols., 1917), Vol. 15, p. 508. "Our Christian Heritage," Letter from Plymouth Rock (Marlborough, NH: The Plymouth Rock Foundation), p. 7. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 17. Gary DeMar, America's Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Publishers, Inc., 1993), p. 104.
1855FB003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Francis Bellamy, June 14, 1954, in a speech by President Dwight David Eisenhower confirming the Act of Congress which added the phrase "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. U.S. Marine Corps, How to Respect and Display Our Flag (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977), p. 31.
1855FB004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Francis Bellamy, June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower on the steps of the Capitol Building. The Capitol (Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 7th edition, 1979), pp. 24-25. Gary DeMar, America's Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Publishers, Inc., 1993), p. 53.