Pledge of Allegiance Archives

The secret reason why a minister wrote the Pledge of Allegiance

Every morning, millions of American children put their hands over their hearts and begin the school day with a simple recitation. It’s been done for nearly 125 years and is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and the Fourth of July.

But did you know more than patriotism was behind the Pledge’s creation? A master wordsmith penned the famous words for an unlikely reason – it was a clever marketing gimmick with a hidden purpose. But the real shocker is the way kids originally saluted the flag while reciting it.