The First Pledge and an Unfortunate Salute

October 12, 1892 – The first mass recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance happened on this day in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas.

The festive event was part of a nationwide celebration in schools all across the United States. A Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge specifically for the grand occasion, and on this morning millions of schoolchildren stood beside their desks, faced the American flag and recited for the first time the words that demonstrated their loyalty to the liberty and justice that the flag represents.

There is one odd footnote. As part of the carefully choreographed ceremony, children were instructed to extend their right arm to the flag with their palms facing down as they recited the Pledge. This “Bellamy Salute” was apparently inspired by the salutation made famous by the Romans. Unfortunately, a few decades later the same salute would be adopted by the Nazis, and it quickly became problematic.

In 1942, two weeks after the start of World War 2, Congress replaced the awkward Bellamy Salute with a hand-over-the-heart gesture. Much better.