The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance The following paper will discuss the ethics of “The Pledge of Allegiance”. The original Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, and Christian Socialist. He was chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association. As chairman he prepared a program for the public schools in 1892, which included a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute – his “Pledge of Allegiance” (Baer, 1992). The Pledge qualifies as an artifact because it is persuading us to use the words in our classrooms everyday as an oral tribute to the United States.
The original pledge was “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. It was written for recitation at flag raising ceremonies as a salute to the flag. The effectiveness it has is having individuals believe that there is power in the symbol of the flag. There is protection and peace of mind in being a unit and having unity and the flag represents this harmony.
There were a few changes that lead to the alteration that is now recited today as "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." The pledge is now an oath and public prayer. This has sparked controversy from civil rights to religious rights. In their attempt to improve the effectiveness of the Pledge, there have been problems. Throughout the years a few alterations have been made to the Pledge. The original phrase “I pledge allegiance to my flag”, was changed to “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States”. The verse “one nation indivisible”, was changed to “one nation, under God, indivisible”. The addition