Preview

The Pledge Of Allegiance Pros And Cons

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1191 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Pledge Of Allegiance Pros And Cons
If you were raised in the United States, your ability to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at any moment is almost assumed. It is a declaration of loyalty engraved in the minds of American youth. Nearly all children in the United States today know the Pledge of Allegiance by heart, but a far less percentage actually understand the words they are saying, and even those students are not guaranteed to believe the words that they are reciting. The writer of the oath himself, Francis Bellamy, said that the Pledge of Allegiance “has been pounding away on the impressionable minds of children for a generation." The Pledge of Allegiance is an outdated ritual that should no longer be practiced in schools due to its religious implications, social coercion, and overly patriotic influence on the youth of the United States that has caused debates and controversy, so the immediate retirement of the Pledge of Allegiance could eliminate the issues surrounding the oath.
Description of Problem The Pledge of Allegiance is a repetitive form of forced patriotism that only incites controversy in the American public. In 46 of the United States, children must recite the Pledge of Allegiance in their classrooms, not necessarily daily, however. This is a large percentage of American children that are stuck in a cycle of repeating a
…show more content…
The origins of the Pledge are not placed in glory and patriotism, either. It was introduced as a way to calm the storm after the Civil War, citing an indivisible nation, as well as being a means to Americanize the massive wave of immigrants. This 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.” A noticeable difference between this Pledge of Allegiance and the one that echoes through Americans’ heads is the “under God”

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 1814 Francis Scott wrote the poem that is recognized as our National Anthem. The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” was written after the Maryland fort was bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. In 2013-2014 there was an estimated 98,000 public schools in America. Many of these schools start their day with the National Anthem. In the past couple of years there has been controversy with people in the limelight sitting out during the National Anthem. Many people believe that sitting out for the National Anthem is disrespectful to the troops who go to serve in the places that try to take our country down. Other people believe that sitting out for the national is part of our First Amendment right for freedom…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The United States Constitution overcame the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and provide for the organization of the new government. In the 1780’s, the United States created their first formal government after the colonists won the Revolutionary War against the British. The Articles of Confederation is a unicameral legislature where all states have a single vote. The Constitutional Convention is a bicameral where the House of Representatives has votes towards population, and the senate has 2 votes per state. A debate in between the federalists, believe the constitution should be ratified, and the anti-federalists, believe the constitution should not be ratified.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rule of some men over others, ubiquitous throughout human history, cannot arise from the nature of the ruler or the ruled, but only and necessarily from some human arrangement. As Jefferson wrote in 1826, two weeks before his death, which fell on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, “All eyes are open to or opening to … the palpable truth that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride it. For more than a year, the Americans had sent petitions to England proclaiming their grievances against the British government. Colonists even appealed to the British people, pleading with them to elect different members of Parliament who would be more open…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    On May 14th, 1787 in the state of Philadelphia, the United States founding fathers met at the The Federal Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation, also known as the US first Constitution. On May 25th, after many debates, it was decided that the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government and after several months of work on September 17th, 1787 the Constitution of the US was created. An integral section of the Constitution is The U.S. Bill of Rights which contains the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the push for independence from the British in the late 1770s became more evident prior and post the revolutionary war, the true seed of the American identity was planted with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House on July 4, 1776. The colonies soon began taking their first steps as a nation as they took on the enlightened views of John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, evidently leading to the establishment of the 10 amendments that would act as the fundamental principles of the blooming nation, and establish a foreground for the coming ones which define the United States today. Unended for and in a fragile state, the now independent colonies were strong patriotically…

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution of the United States of America has become one of the most essential documents of legislation in history. The modern government of America that exists today is built upon the Constitution. Found within the document is another important piece of legislation that is called The Bill of Rights which is composed of the first ten amendments. The purpose of this bill was to protect the rights of the citizens, granting the people certain freedoms and preventing the government from becoming powerful. One of the most heated debates on civil liberties is freedom of speech.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At presidential debates, sporting events and at schools The Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Since these events are important in context they are seen as a statement, describing what it means to be an American however many citizens are challenging the pledge because it contains two words that some, like Gwen Wilde, do not believe in. Gwen Wilde, the author of Why the Pledge of Allegiance Should Be Revised, is one of the few Americans protesting the Pledge because it contains the words “under God”.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Pledge of Allegiance is one of the most common morning traditions throughout American public schools. The expression of loyalty was altered and modified four times during its existence to be muttered, yawned, or delivered by millions of students. The first composed version stated “ I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" (Robinson). The most current addition of the Pledge adds the phrase “under God,” implying “monotheism and control... God who interferes with events on earth guiding the U.S. in the direction that he wishes.” Requiring and promoting the Pledge with this new addition of words erupted criticism and legal disputes in the United States.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    While I agree with you that there are plenty of other issues going on in the world that needs to be addressed; however, I do think that this is one of those issues. I believe that this is a problem because it still stands for a country that no longer represents what those words have to say. Keeping those words in the Pledge of Allegiance only further promotes reasons for people to point out those that are different. I'm not religious at all and I have never been. I was forced as a child to go to church and I was forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day at school. It always made me feel uncomfortable to say under God because I never felt that it represented me and what I thought our country stood for. We can't keep saying…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Written in September 1892, the Pledge if Allegiance was meant for the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival to the New World. It was created by Francis Bellamy. It originally read: I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands is, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Years later in 1954, the words "under God" added after the words "one nation". Many people have gotten into this issue, because it's important to have access to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In other words you're supposed to be able to do and believe as you wish. A small percentage of people believe that it should be removed from the pledge, because they don't think it's right to "force". But after this many years is…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In fact, it was never originally part of the pledge. During the 1950’s once Eisenhower included “under god” into the pledge, he claimed, “ In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war,” (Greene). His original intent was to separate America from communism. The communists' regime ended almost thirty years ago. Communism is no longer an issue that the U. S needs to worry about so the inclusion of “under god” has fulfilled its duty. The phrase no longer holds any social significance and should be put to…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    My choice of writing for the Rogerian essay is on the topic of the Pledge of Allegiance in School. “In a decision that stunned the nation, a federal appeals court in June ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because the pledge contains the words "under God" “ (Chmielewski). The banning of the Pledge of Allegiance is a very large controversial topic because one side believes that while the foundation of our country is religion, the other side believes that the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance is an infringement on our First Amendment right. The Pledge of Allegiance began in 1892. It was a way of showing a sense of celebration for being an American. Since 1892…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A captive audience is a group of people being forced to attend. Wisconsin state law says that students have to be in school and the pledge has to be said to be said. This doesn’t mean you are forced to say the pledge, you can opt out if you would like. Humanist Society, a nonprofit religious organization, “The use of the current version of the pledge in public schools violates this Court’s coercion analysis. Reciting ‘under God’ is a religious act. Children, while theoretically having the right to opt out of reciting the Pledge, may not do so because of fear of exposure as outsiders, because they do not have the capacity to do so, or because they wish not to appear unpatriotic to their teachers and classmates. Furthermore, the wish of parents for their children not to recite the Pledge may be ignored, indoctrinating them against the parents’ will,” (10). The Humanist Society believes that you are under some kind of pressure from your peers if you don’t say the pledge. However, they are wrong because people can put up christmas displays in public places. If people can have christmas displays in public areas, then why would it not be ok to keep the words in the pledge. Because some people mistakenly believe the words force religion on a captive audience, they argue the words should be…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In addition, our Party controls family structure by teaching the children to become Junior Spies, which brainwashes and encourages them to eavesdrop on their own parents and tattle-tale their thoughtcrimes. Therefore, not only adults are obliged to make the pledge, children are obliged to do so as well, and it takes a lot less effort to convince the kids than the adults. As The Party, we invent enemies who are responsible for their misfortunes. The citizens build up emotions and anger to hate these made-up enemies, so they unite by having a common enemy just as the Party had planned.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Pledge of Allegiance was written to fit any person in any country but the in 1945 the U.S. adopted it and changed it twice to fit our country but it wasn’t used in the morning to start the day for fifty-five years. In 2004 a student named Michael Newdow argued that “under God” challenged the right to freedom of religion and violated the prohibition on the establishment of religion in the First Amendment of the United States…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays