under god got unofficially added to the pledge of allegiance during a sermon by pastor docherty on june 14, 1954.
when did under god get unofficially added to the pledge of allegiance during a sermon by pastor docherty?
june 14, 1954
before february 1954, no endeavor to get the pledge officially amended had succeeded. the final successful push came from george macpherson docherty. some american presidents honored lincoln's birthday by attending services at the church lincoln attended, new york avenue presbyterian church by sitting in lincoln's pew on the sunday nearest february 12. on february 7, 1954, with president eisenhower sitting in lincoln's pew, the church's pastor, george macpherson docherty, delivered a sermon based on the gettysburg address entitled "a new birth of freedom." he argued that the nation's might lay not in arms but rather in its spirit and higher purpose. he noted that the pledge's sentiments could be those of any nation: "there was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the american way of life." he cited lincoln's words "under god" as defining words that set the us apart from other nations.
pledge of allegiance
senator homer ferguson, in his report to the congress, march 10, 1954, said that "the introduction of this joint resolution was suggested to me by a sermon given recently by the rev. george m. docherty, of washington, d.c., who is pastor of the church at which lincoln worshipped." this time congress concurred with the oakman-ferguson resolution, and eisenhower opted to sign the bill into law appropriately on flag day (june 14, 1954). the fact that eisenhower clearly had docherty's rationale in mind as he initiated and consummated this measure is apparent in a letter he wrote in august, 1954. docherty's sermon was published by harper & bros. in new york in 1958 and president eisenhower took the opportunity to write to docherty with gratitude for the opportunity to once again read the fateful sermon.
george macpherson docherty