User:Leo Spears/sandbox

Controversy with the Pledge of Allegiance

Interestingly, although it is believed that this phrase has been upheld since its creation, there are certain areas where it is clearly being violated. One example is in the pledge of allegiance. The pledge was first created by Francis Bellamy in 1891, who was working for a magazine company at the time. His job was working on a patriotic program for schools, and it led him to creating a salute for children to recite every day in school to the flag. As years went on, the pledge was slightly changed now and then, but in 1954, the Knights of Columbus, which was a Catholic organization, rallied to have the words "under god" added to the pledge. Later on June 14th, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill to make the addition.

Since then, there have been multiple cases involving controversy in the phrase. A recent case of this was in 2004, when controversy surrounded a Californian law in schools which required students to recite the pledge. An atheist man challenged this law, who said the law violated his daughters right to free speech. It ended with the supreme court ruling in favor of the school system, which also stated that teachers leading students in the pledge was constitutional.

Under the concept of the phrase "Separation of Church and State", the addition of "Under God" should not be included in a national pledge for the nation. It is insinuating the idea that the United States is a religious state, and even all united under one god, which is not only offensive towards Americans who don't believe in any sort of God, but also towards those who believe in different gods, specifically a non-christian god. Kids are not forced, but strongly encouraged to recite the pledge, and if they refuse because they disagree with any part of it, they are considered an outcast and made to feel shame by the class. It is also interesting to think about how the original writer of the pledge was a minister, and he never included any reference to god in the original pledge.

Peer review

insert the pledge before 1954

just remember to cite your sources.

Add more content like this because you don't reach the word requirement.

Conclusion

The work you have submitted is very clear and thought out. I don't see any major biases in your work. however please use the cite button near the top of your sandbox because it makes your work much easier to read and all in all makes your work flow better and appear more professional. It also allows you to keep your sources more organized.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wrote-the-pledge-of-allegiance-93907224/

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-latest-controversy-about-under-god-in-the-pledge-of-allegiance

Peer Review Response

I fully understand all of Mitch's points on how to improve my piece. I will certainly cite my sources for the final project, and will make it longer so it meets the word requirement. I appreciate the comments on fluency and the writing being very thoughtful. When I write I really try to work on making it flow well and try to articulate so readers can clearly see I thought through every sentence.

I will take all of the feedback and change my work for the better.