El Toro Grammar School Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist and Baptist minister, for a youth magazine as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America. The original wording of the pledge reads:
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Shortly afterwards a minor change was made inserting the word "to" before "the Republic":
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
In 1923 the phrase "my Flag" was changed to "the Flag of the United States" to make it clearer for immigrants and in 1924 "of America" was inserted. It wasn't until 1942 that the US officially recognized the pledge.
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 hand gesture initially used started as a military-style salute with the arm then extended towards the flag, palm up, as the words 'my flag' were recited. It later changed to start with the right hand over the heart and then extended, palm down, towards the flag. Extending the arm was dropped in the 1940s because of the similarity to the Nazi salute.
In 1948 various groups began inserting the phrase "under God" after "one nation" and in 1954 it was officially adopted by Congress. As with the change in the salute due to Nazi overtones, this addition was largely influenced by the desire to differentiate the US from communism. It was at this same time that the national motto was changed from "E Pluribus Unum" to "In God We Trust" and added to all currency for the same reasons.
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.
In 1940 the Supreme Court held that students could be compelled to stand and recite the pledge but reversed the decision in 1943.
Reference links:
http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wrote-the-pledge-of-allegiance-93907224
http://www.usflag.org/history/pledgeofallegiance.html
http://www.oldtimeislands.org/pledge/pledge.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bellamy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/history-of-the-pledge-of-allegiance-130911.htm