Under God

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Composed by members of the staff of the Youth's Companion* and first printed in the issue of Sept. 8, 1892, this pledge rapidly became a fixture of U.S. school life, as standard as Palmer penmanship and chewed erasers. In 1923, out of concern for the possible confusion of the foreign-born, the words "the Flag of the United States" were substituted for "my Flag." The following year the pledge was made even more explicit: "of America" was added after "Flag of the United States."

Last week, a judiciary subcommittee of the House of Representatives unanimously voted to recommend that the words "under God" be inserted after the words "one nation," and Congress will probably make the new wording law during the present session. The old lilt of 1892 was no longer, but the boys and girls who repeat the pledge each morning will be reminded--says the revision's sponsor, Michigan Democrat Louis C. Rabaut--that "democratic . . . institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."

* Chief author, according to the findings of the United States Flag Association: children's story writer Francis Bellamy of Rome, N.Y.

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