06/10/2026
Flag Day is June 14.
The Second Continental Congress adopted our flag on June 14, 1777. Flag Day activities began in George Balch’s Kindergarten class in New York City in 1889. In 1892, Francis Bellamy wrote a pledge for students to recite on October 12th to remember the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Congress adopted the pledge in 1942 and the words “under God” were added during the Cold War in 1954.
The pledge was approved with significant debate on how to salute our flag. The decision was made to place our hand over our heart instead of raising one hand as was the practice in countries that were at war against the United States.
The recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance has been challenged since 1943 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that students could not be forced to salute the flag or recite the pledge. In 2014, the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit against the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District seeking to eliminate the words “under God”. The Court ruled in favor of the school district because New Jersey law requires schools to have a daily recitation of the pledge without forcing students to take part.
Our national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key as he watched the British attack on Fort McHenry on September 13-14, 1814 in Baltimore Harbor. The British attacked Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1814 when Francis Scott Key was on a British ship negotiating the release of Dr. William Banes, who was taken prisoner by the British because he refused to provide food to British soldiers. The words appeared in a poem, “Defense of Fort M’Henry.” In 1929, Congress made this our national anthem. The anthem is one means that unites our diverse population!
Social Studies educators teach about American symbols, the meaning of the words liberty and justice for all, and the history of Flag Day. Educators have always been essential to our freedom, democracy, and unity as a nation.
