Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Natalie Farr
11 September 2008
“The United States of America” and “under God” are two phrases
116 years ago. “The United States of America” was added in 1923 and
was placed after the words “my Flag (Wilde, 47).” “My Flag” was
deemed too confusing for the massive wave of immigrants after World
national unity with the influx of new citizens. The independence offered
in the phrase “my Flag” became the omnipresent “the Flag of the
the word for God goes unspoken in prayer. The word can only be
believes the Jewish God is different than the American God, then the
the Flag from Religion because as she devises a way to subtract God
from the Pledge she must also subtract religion and worship. She
mentions honoring the Flag and writes of loyalty to country, but there
The author begins with “All Americans are familiar with the
She goes on to say that “the original Pledge did not include the words
‘under God’ (47).” The Pledge of 1892 was two lines long and consisted
of 23 words. The effect of two major wars has caused the Pledge to
undergo two changes, which have added eight words to the original
poem.
The first edit came after World War I with the unifying of the line
“my Flag” and “the Republic” to “the United States of America.” “To
the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which
During the buildup of World War II, the Pledge became official
be “indivisible (47).”
more divisive than “under God,” which is also the more recent addition
However, until “of the United States of America” was added in 1923,
the poem had no attachment to “the Nation.” There were only 12 years
between the two changes in the Pledge in which the pledge was
officially sanctioned by the United States Flag Code and did not include
the history of the Pledge to justify her position and its relation to
She does not base her own regard for the subject with any
reverence toward any individuals formerly involved with the Pledge nor
studies the emotional impact of the people who were most affected by
the decision to add words to the Pledge. Wilde chooses to not read the
past and follows her own logic of religiosity statistics and fails to
that American citizens must recite the Pledge in fear, yet she makes no
effort to conquer, or even identify the root of her fears, which is the
American government.
reference for Eisenhower’s position and its relation to the time in which
when she does not draw similarities or differences between her own
This period from 1942-1954 was arguably the bloodiest since the
peace and war (48).” “Of the United States of America” condensed “my
Flag” to “the Flag of the United States” and separated each citizen’s
God” separated those who believe in God and those who do not. The
when total peace has been achieved and appreciated by their own
between War and Peace. Eisenhower placed his faith in the American
presence larger than he and his country, believed to rule America itself
page 48, “If one doesn’t express this belief [in divine power] one is –
she says not everyone expresses belief in divine power, but over 50
Allegiance.
On page 49, Gwen Wilde says the phrase “under God” “does not
Works Cited