The Pledge of Allegiance
A brief intro to The Pledge of Allegiance [Video: 1m 16s]
A brief history of The Pledge of Allegiance [Video: 7m 17s]
You’ve Already Learned
If you’ve watched our seven-minute film, you now know that the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 for the National School Celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. It was penned by Francis Bellamy for The Youth’s Companion, a publication that reached a half a million readers and was both popular and enormously influential.
But there’s so much more to the story.
- What was Bellamy thinking when he wrote the Pledge?
- Why did he choose those words?
- What changes were made after Bellamy wrote it?
- And how did The Youth’s Companion shape American values over 100 years ago, establishing patriotic rituals that we still observe today?