Pledge of Allegiance Passes into Law
The Pledge of Allegiance was passed into law by Congress on June 22, 1942. The children’s magazine, The Youth’s Companion, in order to help sell flags for their 'schoolhouse flag movement', hired the Socialist, Francis Bellamy to write the 'Pledge of Allegiance'. The Pledge was to be part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas – an event conceived and promoted by James B. Upham, the marketer of The Youth's Companion.
The Pledge was originally published in the September 8th issue of the magazine in 1892 and went as follows:
'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'
The accompanying Bellamy salute was dropped during WWII, on December 22, 1942, for obvious reasons, and Congress instituted the current hand-over-heart version.