Congressional Hurdle, May 28, 1954

On May 28, 1954, legislation to insert the words “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance cleared a decisive step in Congress, moving the proposal toward final passage and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signature later that summer. The moment belonged to a tense Cold War era, when atheistic communism claimed the state as ultimate. The added phrase publicly signaled that America’s liberty is not self-made and not state-owned, but answerable to higher authority.

From Bellamy’s Pledge to a Nation’s Confession

The original pledge (1892), written by Francis Bellamy, did not include the phrase. By the 1950s, civic and faith-minded groups—most notably the Knights of Columbus—urged a clearer acknowledgment of God in public life. In Congress, figures such as Representative Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan helped carry the effort forward. The aim was not triumphalism, but a measured humility: the nation’s ideals must stand under judgment, not above it.

Eisenhower and a Washington Sermon

A key personal influence on Eisenhower came from a sermon preached in Washington, D.C., at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church by Pastor George M. Docherty on Lincoln Sunday (February 1954). Docherty argued that without God, the pledge’s “one nation” could be claimed by any ideology; with God, it confessed a moral boundary. Eisenhower also echoed Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg words—“this nation, under God”—linking sacrifice and national purpose to divine accountability.

Meaning, Duty, and Neighbor-Love

Adding words could not make America righteous. Yet it could remind citizens to pray, repent, and act with moral courage. Scripture sets the pattern: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12). And renewal begins with humility: “If My people… humble themselves and pray…” (2 Chronicles 7:14). True patriotism is not mere pride; it is faithful service—seeking justice, telling the truth, keeping promises, honoring life, and loving one’s neighbor as a public duty under God’s righteous rule and gracious providence.