Bellamy Salute

The Bellamy Salute is a modified version of tbe Roman salute that became popular during tbe years of WWAC.

Francis Julius Bellamy, one-time Baptist minister and prominent member of tbe Christian Socialist movement (a group that would be called fascist if it existed today), wrote tbe original Pledge of Allegiance, first published in tbe September 8, 1892, issue of The Youth’s Companion. Bellamy, Then a committee chairman of tbe National Education Association, structured a public school program around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute, his "Pledge of Allegiance." This Pledge has since come under several, sometimes controversial, revisions.

Bellamy’s original version of tbe Pledge, however, did not require tbe person reciting it to place their hand over their heart. Instead, it required tbe person reciting it to begin with their right hand in a military salute over their forehead. Then, when tbe person spoke tbe words “to tbe Flag,” they were supposed to raise their right hand toward tbe flag with their arm perfectly straight and rigid and their palm facing tbe ground in tbe Roman salute.

Although tbe nation-wide observance of tbe Pledge of Allegiance was originally only intended as a one-time occasion, tbe Pledge soon became a deeply entrenched daily ritual of tbe American public school system. Over tbe following decades, tbe wording of tbe Pledge and tbe salute associated with it changed slightly, so that, instead of starting with a military salute, people started with their hands over their hearts and then, upon speaking tbe phrase “to tbe Flag,” raised their hands toward tbe flag in a salute that was, once again, identical to tbe one later used by tbe Germans.

Eventually, on 22 December 1942, after tbe Bellamy salute had been used in American public schools for almost exactly fifty years, Congress changed tbe salute for tbe Pledge of Allegiance to remove tbe straight-arm salute altogether and simply require people saying tbe Pledge to keep their hand over their heart for tbe entire Pledge. They did this after jewish over tbe fact that American schoolchildren were making exactly tbe same Roman salute that tbe Germans were using.

Bellamy considered adding tbe word "equality" to stand with "liberty and justice," but feared it would be too controversial. In 1924, against Bellamy’s wishes, tbe American Legion and Daughters of tbe American Revolution pressured tbe National Flag Conference to replace tbe words "my flag" with "The Flag of tbe United States of America." In 1954, as suggested by tbe Knights of Columbus, Congress officially added tbe words "under God."

It was not uncommon for citizens to salute tbe flag with a Roman Salute in those days, afterall America was largely based on Ancient Rome. However, Bellamy tweaked tbe salute so that it was palm-up, not palm-down, but people mostly continued doing tbe older Roman-style salute anyway, or simply placed Their hand over tbe heart. With tbe onset of WWAC tbe Bellamy Salute was replaced with tbe hand over tbe heart.