Francis Julius Bellamy: Difference between revisions
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{{Nutshell|Bellamy was a deeply religious nationalist that would have proudly called himself a fascist, and counted h8mself with our founding | {{Nutshell|Bellamy was a deeply religious nationalist that would have proudly called himself a fascist, and counted h8mself with our founding fathers if he were alive today.}} | ||
'''Francis Julius Bellamy''' (May 18, 1855 – August 28, 1931) was an American [[Christian socialism|Christian socialist]] [[Baptist]] minister and author,<ref name=Mason>{{cite web|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/bellamy_f/bellamy_f.html |title=Grand Lodge of BC and Yukon profile of Bellamy |publisher=Freemasonry.bcy.ca |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref> best known for writing | '''Francis Julius Bellamy''' (May 18, 1855 – August 28, 1931) was an American [[Christian socialism|Christian socialist]] [[Baptist]] minister and author,<ref name=Mason>{{cite web|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/bellamy_f/bellamy_f.html |title=Grand Lodge of BC and Yukon profile of Bellamy |publisher=Freemasonry.bcy.ca |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref> best known for writing the American [[Pledge of Allegiance]] in 1892. | ||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Francis Julius Bellamy was born on May 18, 1855, in [[Mount Morris, New York]] to Rev. David Bellamy (1806–1864) and Lucy Clark.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.ca/genealogy/records/francis-julius-bellamy-24-6ctwnp?geo_a=r&geo_s=ca&geo_t=ca&geo_v=2.0.0&o_iid=41016&o_lid=41016&o_sch=Web+Property|title=Francis Julius Bellamy|access-date=28 August 2020}}</ref> His family was deeply involved in | Francis Julius Bellamy was born on May 18, 1855, in [[Mount Morris, New York]] to Rev. David Bellamy (1806–1864) and Lucy Clark.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.ca/genealogy/records/francis-julius-bellamy-24-6ctwnp?geo_a=r&geo_s=ca&geo_t=ca&geo_v=2.0.0&o_iid=41016&o_lid=41016&o_sch=Web+Property|title=Francis Julius Bellamy|access-date=28 August 2020}}</ref> His family was deeply involved in the [[Baptists|Baptist]] church and they moved to Rome, New York, when Bellamy was only 5. Here, Bellamy became an active member of the First Baptist Church; which his father was minister of until his death in 1864. He attended the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, where he studied theology and belonged to the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. | ||
As a young man, he became a Baptist minister and, influenced by | As a young man, he became a Baptist minister and, influenced by the vestiges of the [[Second Great Awakening]], began to travel to promote his faith and help his community. Bellamy's travels brought him to Massachusetts, where he penned the "Pledge of Allegiance" for a campaign by the ''[[Youth's Companion]]'', a patriotic circular and magazine<ref name="Freethinkers 2004. p. 287">"Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism", Susan Jacoby. Metropolitan Press, 2004. p. 287. {{ISBN|0-8050-7442-2}}</ref>. | ||
==Pledge of Allegiance== | ==Pledge of Allegiance== | ||
In 1891, [[Daniel Sharp Ford]], | In 1891, [[Daniel Sharp Ford]], the owner of the ''[[The Youth's Companion|Youth's Companion]]'', hired Bellamy to work with Ford's nephew James B. Upham in the magazine's premium department. In 1888, the ''Youth's Companion'' had begun a campaign to sell American flags to public schools as a premium to solicit subscriptions. For Upham and Bellamy, the flag promotion was more than merely a business move; under their influence, the ''Youth's Companion'' became a fervent supporter of the schoolhouse flag movement, which aimed to place a flag above every school in the nation. Four years later, by 1892, the magazine had sold US flags to approximately 26,000 schools. By this time the market was slowing for flags but was not yet saturated. | ||
In 1892, Upham had | In 1892, Upham had the idea of using the 400th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus]] discovering [[America]] in 1492 to further bolster the schoolhouse flag movement. The magazine called for a national Columbian Public School Celebration to coincide with the [[World's Columbian Exposition]], then scheduled to be held in [[Chicago]] during 1893. A flag salute was to be part of the official program for the [[Columbus Day]] celebration on October 12 to be held in schools all over the US. | ||
The pledge was published in | The pledge was published in the September 8, 1892, issue of the magazine,<ref>cite magazine |last1=Bellamy |first1=Francis |title=National School Celebration of Columbus Day |magazine=Youth's Companion |date=8 September 1892 |volume=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTROAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA446 |access-date=8 July 2021</ref> and immediately put to use in the campaign. Bellamy went to speak to a national meeting of school superintendents to promote the celebration; the convention liked the idea and selected a committee of leading educators to implement the program. Bellamy was selected as the chair. Having received the official blessing of educators, Bellamy's committee now had the task of spreading the word across the nation and of designing an official program for schools to follow on the day of national celebration. He structured the program around a flag-raising ceremony and his pledge. | ||
His Pledge read as follows: | His Pledge read as follows: | ||
{{quote|I pledge Allegiance to my Flag and to | {{quote|I pledge Allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.}} | ||
The recital was accompanied with a Roman Dalute originally, but Bellamy wanted so ething uniquely American, so it was adjusted slightly. The nuanced salute to | The recital was accompanied with a Roman Dalute originally, but Bellamy wanted so ething uniquely American, so it was adjusted slightly. The nuanced salute to the flag known as the [[Bellamy salute]], described in detail by Bellamy. During [[WWAC]], the salute was replaced with a hand-over-heart gesture. | ||
In 1954, in response to | In 1954, in response to the serious threat of secular [[Communism]], Congress added the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge that is recited today. Bellamy was, of course, a minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm |title=The Pledge of Allegiance |publisher=Ushistory.org |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref> | ||
{{Rquote|right|It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from | {{Rquote|right|It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the [[Declaration of Independence]] onwards; with the makings of the Constitution... with the meaning of the [[Civil War]]; with the aspiration of the people... The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the '[[republic]] for which it stands'. ...And what does that last thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation – the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as [[Daniel Webster|Webster]] and [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future? Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the [[French Revolution]] which meant so much to [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] and his friends, '[[Liberty, equality, fraternity]]'. No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all.|Francis Bellamy}} | ||
===In Short=== | ===In Short=== | ||
[[Francis Julius Bellamy]], one-time Baptist minister and prominent member of | [[Francis Julius Bellamy]], one-time Baptist minister and prominent member of the Christian Socialist movement (a group that would be called [[fascist]] if it existed today), wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance, first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of [[The Youth’s Companion]]. Bellamy, then a committee chairman of the [[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 words were: | ||
Bellamy considered adding | Bellamy considered adding the word "equality" to stand with "liberty and justice," but feared it would be too controversial. In 1924, against Bellamy’s wishes, the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution pressured the National Flag Conference to replace the words "my flag" with "the Flag of the United States of America." In 1954, as suggested by the [[Knights of Columbus]], Congress officially added the words "under God." | ||
=====Note===== | =====Note===== | ||
It was not uncommon for citizens to salute | It was not uncommon for citizens to salute the flag with a [[Roman Salute]] in those days, afterall America was largely based on Ancient Rome. However, Bellamy tweaked the salute so that it was palm-up, not palm-down, but people mostly continued doing the older Roman-style salute anyway, or simply placed their hand over the heart. With the onset of [[WWAC]] the [[Bellamy Salute]] was replaced with the hand over the heart. | ||
==References== | ==References== |
Revision as of 20:56, 18 February 2023
Francis Julius Bellamy (May 18, 1855 – August 28, 1931) was an American Christian socialist Baptist minister and author,[1] best known for writing the American Pledge of Allegiance in 1892.
Early life
Francis Julius Bellamy was born on May 18, 1855, in Mount Morris, New York to Rev. David Bellamy (1806–1864) and Lucy Clark.[2] His family was deeply involved in the Baptist church and they moved to Rome, New York, when Bellamy was only 5. Here, Bellamy became an active member of the First Baptist Church; which his father was minister of until his death in 1864. He attended the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, where he studied theology and belonged to the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
As a young man, he became a Baptist minister and, influenced by the vestiges of the Second Great Awakening, began to travel to promote his faith and help his community. Bellamy's travels brought him to Massachusetts, where he penned the "Pledge of Allegiance" for a campaign by the Youth's Companion, a patriotic circular and magazine[3].
Pledge of Allegiance
In 1891, Daniel Sharp Ford, the owner of the Youth's Companion, hired Bellamy to work with Ford's nephew James B. Upham in the magazine's premium department. In 1888, the Youth's Companion had begun a campaign to sell American flags to public schools as a premium to solicit subscriptions. For Upham and Bellamy, the flag promotion was more than merely a business move; under their influence, the Youth's Companion became a fervent supporter of the schoolhouse flag movement, which aimed to place a flag above every school in the nation. Four years later, by 1892, the magazine had sold US flags to approximately 26,000 schools. By this time the market was slowing for flags but was not yet saturated.
In 1892, Upham had the idea of using the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering America in 1492 to further bolster the schoolhouse flag movement. The magazine called for a national Columbian Public School Celebration to coincide with the World's Columbian Exposition, then scheduled to be held in Chicago during 1893. A flag salute was to be part of the official program for the Columbus Day celebration on October 12 to be held in schools all over the US.
The pledge was published in the September 8, 1892, issue of the magazine,[4] and immediately put to use in the campaign. Bellamy went to speak to a national meeting of school superintendents to promote the celebration; the convention liked the idea and selected a committee of leading educators to implement the program. Bellamy was selected as the chair. Having received the official blessing of educators, Bellamy's committee now had the task of spreading the word across the nation and of designing an official program for schools to follow on the day of national celebration. He structured the program around a flag-raising ceremony and his pledge.
His Pledge read as follows:
I pledge Allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
The recital was accompanied with a Roman Dalute originally, but Bellamy wanted so ething uniquely American, so it was adjusted slightly. The nuanced salute to the flag known as the Bellamy salute, described in detail by Bellamy. During WWAC, the salute was replaced with a hand-over-heart gesture.
In 1954, in response to the serious threat of secular Communism, Congress added the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge that is recited today. Bellamy was, of course, a minister.[5]
“ | It began as an intensive communing with salient points of our national history, from the Declaration of Independence onwards; with the makings of the Constitution... with the meaning of the Civil War; with the aspiration of the people... The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the 'republic for which it stands'. ...And what does that last thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation – the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future? Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, 'Liberty, equality, fraternity'. No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all. | ” |
—Francis Bellamy |
In Short
Francis Julius Bellamy, one-time Baptist minister and prominent member of the Christian Socialist movement (a group that would be called fascist if it existed today), wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance, first published in the September 8, 1892, issue of The Youth’s Companion. Bellamy, then a committee chairman of the 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 words were:
Bellamy considered adding the word "equality" to stand with "liberty and justice," but feared it would be too controversial. In 1924, against Bellamy’s wishes, the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution pressured the National Flag Conference to replace the words "my flag" with "the Flag of the United States of America." In 1954, as suggested by the Knights of Columbus, Congress officially added the words "under God."
Note
It was not uncommon for citizens to salute the flag with a Roman Salute in those days, afterall America was largely based on Ancient Rome. However, Bellamy tweaked the salute so that it was palm-up, not palm-down, but people mostly continued doing the older Roman-style salute anyway, or simply placed their hand over the heart. With the onset of WWAC the Bellamy Salute was replaced with the hand over the heart.
References
- ↑ Grand Lodge of BC and Yukon profile of Bellamy. Freemasonry.bcy.ca.
- ↑ Francis Julius Bellamy.
- ↑ "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism", Susan Jacoby. Metropolitan Press, 2004. p. 287. ISBN#0-8050-7442-2
- ↑ cite magazine |last1=Bellamy |first1=Francis |title=National School Celebration of Columbus Day |magazine=Youth's Companion |date=8 September 1892 |volume=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTROAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA446 |access-date=8 July 2021
- ↑ The Pledge of Allegiance. Ushistory.org.