Evolution of the Pledge of Allegiance Salute

The Pledge of Allegiance was not always delivered with the right hand placed over the heart. Until the Flag Code was amended in December of 1942 by Congress, the Pledge of Allegiance was traditionally recited with the right hand extended, palm down, towards the Flag. This salute, called the Bellamy Salute, was named after Francis J. Bellamy, a socialist minister (Ctoncourse). Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance at the request of Daniel Sharp Ford. Ford, in 1892, started a campaign to place American flags “in every classroom in the nation” with the belief that the public show of patriotism would help the nation recover from the looming memory of the Civil War by uniting people through their national identity. The Bellamy Salute was intended to be a physical, non-military style salute. It was

Patriotism, as defined by sociology, is the “love and commitment to one’s country. The sociological definition for nationalism, however, is “a sense of superiority over others” (Kemmelmeier 859). Compared to nationalism, patriotism is benign in definition. With nationalism, there is “them” and then there is “us”; in essence, it creates a strong schism between nations. Radical nationalism is a severe issue as it has high potential in causing conflicts between nations. One of the most notorious examples from history is World War II. Following World War I, Germany was in shambles; the economic and political state of Germany left it vulnerable to the rise of Adolf Hitler. The bitter resentment resulting from the conclusion of World War I in combination with a new, jingoist dictator led to the creation of radical nationalism within Germany. This nationalism led to the willingness to kill indiscriminately for the country under the belief that Germany was a far superior nation and all other nations needed to be eradicated, thus leading to global