In 1892, a Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy composed a pledge of allegiance to the flag. He was unhappy with the current pledge devised by George Balch. Balch had been a general in the Civil War. His pledge read: “We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag.” Bellamy’s version is basically what we say today with two changes. As time went by, “my flag” was replaced by “the flag of the United States of America” partly because of the large increase in immigration. There needed to be no confusion as to what flag they were pledging to. Bellamy did not like this change, by the way. The pledge was officially adopted by Congress in 1942. Starting around 1951, some religious groups, including the Knights of Columbus, began adding “under God” partly to emphasize that we were a Christian country as opposed to the godless communists. Pres. Eisenhower liked the addition and he signed the amendment to the Pledge on Flag Day in 1954.
https://historycollection.co/19-american-history-myths-debunked/5/
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