<P> Bellamy's original Pledge read: </P> <P> I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all . </P> <P> The Pledge was supposed to be quick and to the point . Bellamy designed it to be recited in 15 seconds . As a socialist, he had initially also considered using the words equality and fraternity but decided against it, knowing that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans . </P> <P> Francis Bellamy and Upham had lined up the National Education Association to support the Youth's Companion as a sponsor of the Columbus Day observance and the use in that observance of the American flag . By June 29, 1892, Bellamy and Upham had arranged for Congress and President Benjamin Harrison to announce a proclamation making the public school flag ceremony the center of the Columbus Day celebrations . This arrangement was formalized when Harrison issued Presidential Proclamation 335 . Subsequently, the Pledge was first used in public schools on October 12, 1892, during Columbus Day observances organized to coincide with the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair), Illinois . </P>

Why did they put under god in the pledge of allegiance