Unites States Congress (June 14, 1954) approved the Joint Resolution 243 (Public Law 83-396), which added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. (The Pledge was initially adopted by the 79th Congress on December 28, 1945, as Public Law 287.):
<Public Law 396; Chapter 297; Joint Resolution
To amend the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 7 of the joint resolution entitled "Joint resolution to codify and emphasize existing rules and customs pertaining to the display and use of the flag of the United States of America," approved June 22, 1942, as amended (36 U.S.C., sec. 172), is amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 7. The following is designated as the pledge of allegiance to the flag: '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.' Such pledge should be rendered by standing with the right hand over the heart. However, civilians will always show full respect to the flag when the pledge is given by merely standing at attention, men removing the headdress. Persons in uniform shall render the military salute."
Approved June 14, 1954.> 1954US003
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister from Boston named Francis Bellamy, who was ordained in the Baptist Church of Little Falls, New York. He was a member of the staff of The Youth's Companion, which first published the Pledge on September 8, 1892, in Boston, Massachusetts. Public-school children first recited it during the National School Celebration on the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America, October 12, 1892, at the dedication of the 1892 Chicago World's Fair. The words "under God" were taken from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:
<...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth...> 1954US004
On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed it 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.> 1954US005
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.> 1954US006
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."> 1954US007
In 1979, a publication approved by and printed under authority of Congress titled The Capitol-A Pictorial History of the Capitol and of the Congress (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979), p. 24, rendered the following comments regarding the pledge:
<This pledge attests what has been true about America from the beginning. Faith in the transcendent, sovereign God was in the public philosophy-the American consensus. America's story opened with the first words of the Bible, In the beginning God....We are truthfully one nation under God "and our institutions presuppose a Divine Being," wrote Justice William O. Douglas in 1966.
Only a nation founded on theistic pre-supposition would adopt a first amendment to ensure the free exercise of all religions or of none. The government would be neutral among the many denominations and no one church would become the state church. But America and its institutions of government could not be neutral about God.> 1954US008
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
1954US003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Congress of the Unites States, June 14, 1954, approved the Joint Resolution 243, signed by President Eisenhower. (Public Law 83-396; Chapter 297; Sec. 7), June 22, 1942, 36 U.S.C. sec. 172); December 28, 1945, as Public Law 287.) Courtesy of Bruce Barilla, Christian Heritage Week Ministry (P.O. Box 58, Athens, W.V. 24712; 304-384-7707, 304-384-9044 fax). 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.
1954US004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). United States Congress, September 8, 1892, Pledge of Allegiance. 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.
1954US005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). United States Congress, June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed House Joint Resolution 243 into law as Public Law 83-396, which added the phrase, "under God," to the Pledge of Allegiance (Public Law 287). "Our Christian Heritage," Letter from Plymouth Rock (Marlborough, NH: The Plymouth Rock Foundation), p. 7. Gary DeMar, America's Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Publishers, Inc., 1993), p. 104. 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.
1954US006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). United States Congress, June 14, 1954, in a speech 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.
1954US007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Congress of the United State, 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.
1954US008. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Congress of the Unites States, June 14, 1954, approved the Joint Resolution 243 (Public Law 83-396), which added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, (initially adopted by the 79th Congress on December 28, 1945, as Public Law 287.). The Capitol-A Pictorial History of the Capitol and of the Congress (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1979), p. 24. Gary DeMar, "Censoring America's Christian History" (Atlanta: The Biblical Worldview, An American Vision Publication-American Vision, Inc., July 1990), p. 10. Zorach v. Clauson; 343 U. S. 306, 312-314 (1952).