Pledge of Allegiance is a solemn promise of loyalty to the United States. It reads:
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.
Public-school children first recited the pledge as they saluted the flag during the National Public Schools Celebration held in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. The original pledge was most likely written by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), though some people later claimed that James B. Upham (1845-1905) wrote the pledge. Both men were from Boston and worked for The Youth’s Companion. A panel of scholars gave the credit to Bellamy in 1939. The National Flag Conferences of the American Legion expanded the original wording in 1923 and 1924. In 1942, Congress made the pledge part of its code for the use of the flag. In 1954, it added the words “under God.”
