The Pledge of Allegiance- Same as it Ever Was... or Not

Nikki Keisler

Article #1

Stories of American Heroes

"The Plegde of Allegiance"

         So this article is about the history of The pledge of Allegiance and how it came to be. In 1812 two men named Francis Bellamy and James Upham were to plan the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering the Americas. Francis was and teacher and was the chairmen of the National Committee of educators. James was an employee at a Boston publishing firm. These men wrote the original draft of the Pledge of Allegiance. Soon after 12 million children recited the pledge. The pledge became popular after that.

                 I pledge allegiance to my Flag,

          and to the Republic for which it stands:

                 one Nation indivisible,

          With Liberty and justice for all.

On June 14, 1923 the National flag Conference changed my to a the. The next year the pledge was changed once more.

                     I pledge allegiance to the Flag

                 Of the United States of America,

                 And to the Republic for which it stands:

             one Nation indivisible,

        With Liberty and justice for all.

     The pledge was recited regularly by students and patriots. Then the pledge was changed for the last time.  Dwight D. Eisenhower gave approval to adding the phrase "under God". And since no further changes have been made. So by reciting this you are promising your loyalty to the flag, your loyalty to the states, your loyalty to the government and understand that our nation shouldn't be split but one and that the right to liberty and justice belongs to every one.

         This relates to what we are studying because in the Pledge of allegiance you are stating that you understand that every one has the right to liberty and justice therefore, the Bill of Right states all citizen right are stated along with right that insure justice. For example, Amendment 5: Criminal trial rights protect the accused of breaking the law from an unjust trial. It state rights like, right to a jury, right to legal help. All the right listed in this amendment protect people for being tried unfairly. Therefore by saying the pledge you are recognizing that everyone has these rights.

        

        This connects to my life as a citizen because when people say the pledge they are stating that everyone has liberties and freedoms and i have witness people expressing their right and freedoms through the Occupy Wall street protests. People in the Occupy Wall street protest are exercising their right to free speech and the right to assemble. This also connects directly with my life because if the protesters ultimately get the banks to change and start loaning money then my parents can get a loan to invest in a new house and business. But if they don't change the banks then my parents and everyone else wont be able to qualify for a loan. This is how it directly effects me as a citizen.

        If there was one thing i could change about the Pledge of Allegiance it would be that i would have it say " may Flag" rather that "the Flag". I would change this because the flag of the United states doesn't just belong to anyone it belong to the people of The United States. Saying "my flag" would put more emphasis on the fact that the flag and what it represent s belongs to the people. Saying "the Flag" make it sound like our flag is the same as other countries flags. But its not it stands for things other counties flags don't stand for like democracy, justice, rights, freedom and liberty. h