The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister. The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in 1891 in the September 8th issue of the Boston based magazine, The Youth’s Companion. The original pledge read, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” It was intended for school children to recite to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.
Three official changes have been made to the Pledge of Allegiance. The word ‘to’ was added in-between ‘the’ and ‘Republic’ in 1892. The words ‘my Flag’ were changed to ‘the Flag of the United States of America’ in 1924. The words ‘under God’ were added in 1954.
The current official words of the Pledge of Allegiance are:
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.