Pledge of Allegiance of the United States

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Today it reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Section 4 of the Flag Code states:

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.", should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute."






Thursday, May 29, 2014

DAY 6 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR MAY 30, 2014

May 30

American Minute for May 30th:

On MAY 30, 1774, the members of the Virginia House of Burgesses met at the home of Speaker of the House, Peyton Randolph, the older cousin of Thomas Jefferson.

They had all just been fired and sent home by Virginia's Royal Governor Lord Dunmore, because they proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Prayer to be observed the same day the British navy was to block Boston's harbor as punishment for the Tea Party.

At Peyton's home, they decided to invite delegates from all of Virginia's counties to a Convention.

Citizens of Fairfax County met in Alexandria's court house July 18, 1774, where they approved George Mason's Fairfax Resolves which identified American rights and stood against abusive British oppression.

George Washington was chosen to carry the Fairfax Resolves to the First Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, August 1, 1774.

The Fairfax Resolves stated:

"'People's being governed by no laws to which they have not given their consent'...if this part of the Constitution was taken away...the Government must degenerate...into an absolute and despotic monarchy...and the freedom of the people be annihilated..."

"The British...extort from us our money without our consent...diametrically contrary to the first principles of the Constitution...totally incompatible with the privileges of a free people and the natural rights of mankind...calculated to reduce us...to slavery and misery..."

"We will use every means which Heaven hath given us to prevent our becoming its slaves..."

The Virginia Convention sent delegates to Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress, including Peyton Randolph, Patrick Henry and George Washington.

Carrying the Fairfax Resolves, they met at Carpenter's Hall, beginning September 6, 1774.

Payton Randolph was chosen as the first President of the First Continental Congress, making him the first to have the title "Father of our Country."

The Fairfax Resolves were revised and approved as the Continental Association of October 20th, 1774.

The next year, Peyton Randolph was President of the Second Continental Congress in Richmond, Virginia.

This is where Patrick Henry gave his speech, March 23, 1775:

"...Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!

The war is inevitable - and let it come!...

Gentlemen may cry, 'Peace! Peace!' - but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!..

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"

Hide Endnotes

On MAY 30, 1774, the members of the Virginia House of Burgesses met at the home of Speaker of the House, Peyton Randolph, the older cousin of Thomas Jefferson.

They had all just been fired and sent home by Virginia's Royal Governor Lord Dunmore, because they proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Prayer to be observed the same day the British navy was to block Boston's harbor as punishment for the Tea Party.

At Peyton's home, they decided to invite delegates from all of Virginia's counties to a Convention.

Citizens of Fairfax County met in Alexandria's court house July 18, 1774, where they approved George Mason's Fairfax Resolves which identified American rights and stood against abusive British oppression.

George Washington was chosen to carry the Fairfax Resolves to the First Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, August 1, 1774.

The Fairfax Resolves stated:

"'People's being governed by no laws to which they have not given their consent'...if this part of the Constitution was taken away...the Government must degenerate...into an absolute and despotic monarchy...and the freedom of the people be annihilated..."

"The British...extort from us our money without our consent...diametrically contrary to the first principles of the Constitution...totally incompatible with the privileges of a free people and the natural rights of mankind...calculated to reduce us...to slavery and misery..."

"We will use every means which Heaven hath given us to prevent our becoming its slaves..."

The Virginia Convention sent delegates to Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress, including Peyton Randolph, Patrick Henry and George Washington.

Carrying the Fairfax Resolves, they met at Carpenter's Hall, beginning September 6, 1774.

Payton Randolph was chosen as the first President of the First Continental Congress, making him the first to have the title "Father of our Country."

The Fairfax Resolves were revised and approved as the Continental Association of October 20th, 1774.

The next year, Peyton Randolph was President of the Second Continental Congress in Richmond, Virginia.

This is where Patrick Henry gave his speech, March 23, 1775:

"...Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!

The war is inevitable - and let it come!...

Gentlemen may cry, 'Peace! Peace!' - but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!..

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"


Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. November 11, 1932, inscription on back panel. Thomas Vorwerk, The Unknown Soldier (Springfield, MO: Pentecostal Evangel, June 28, 1992), p. 12. Vice-President Calvin Coolidge, May 31, 1923, Memorial Day Address, "The Destiny of America," The Price of Freedom - Speeches and Addresses (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924), pp. 331-353. Dear Bill Federer, Many thanks for your reference to VP Coolidge May 1923 Memorial Day address...I am with the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, an educational nonprofit organization with the mission to open the eyes of the world to Calvin Coolidge. I invite you to visit us in Vermont and to review our website http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/ William F. Brooks, Jr. Development Director, Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, bbrooks@calvin-coolidge.org (802) 672-3389, Ext. 4


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