The pledge of allegiance was always considered a routine part in my morning at school, until now because of the recent controversy. Michael Nedow brought up the controversy this past June. He took the Sacramento school district to court saying that the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional because of the words 'under God.' The case went all the way to the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court. Michael Newdow is correct in saying that the pledge is unconstitutional. There are many reasons to support this such as, the original pledge made no mention of god, but yet we still include it today, the pledge violates the Establishment Clause of the first amendment, and the fact that public school prayer is illegal. These plus many more reasons build a strong case.
             Francis Bellamy and James Uphan wrote the pledge in 1892 and it was first shown to the public in the September 8, 1892 issue of "Youth's Companion." One month later 12 million school children recited the pledge in school and the pledge of allegiance was born. The original pledge read, "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all." It underwent many changes beginning with the change of 'my flag' to 'the flag of the United States' on June 14, 1923. Later President Dwight D. Eisenhower added the words 'under God' to the pledge on June 14, 1954. Finally on June 22, 1942, it became mandatory for all students to recite the pledge in school and students have been continuing to do so up until recently. (Homeofheroes.com, pp 1-4)
             The original pledge as written by Francis Bellamy and James Uphan made no mention of God, so why should we still include it today and what does the phrase 'under God' really mean? In 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the addition of the words 'under God' to the...