Issue of Case

When the Pledge of Allegiance was first written in 1892 it was “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” then in 1923 it was revised to “I pledge allegiance to the Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” and was finally recognized by congress in 1942. In 1943 the Supreme Court ruled that students in public school were not forced to recite the pledge. The final change to the pledge was made in 1954 by President Eisenhower when he added the words “Under God” to the pledge stating that "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

In the Supreme Court the issues that were discussed where weather or not the act of adding the words Under God into the Pledge of Allegiance where protected but the Speech and Debate Clause or not. Also weather on not the phrase goes against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment where is says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” and also Separation of Church and
State, the court looked to see whether or not the acts fall within the legitimate legislative sphere, if they did congress was protected. The question was, was the phrase “Under God” added for worthy purpose if not the act was unprotected. Last the court looked to see if Newdow had standing to challenge the Pledge of Allegiance.

"MICHAEL A. NEWDOW vs United States District Court ." UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT. June 26, 2002. 7 Mar 2009 .

Longley, Robert . "Brief history of the Pledge of Allegiance." About.com. 19 Mar 2009 .