Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the
original Pledge in August 1892. He was a Christian Socialist. In
his Pledge, he is expressing the ideas of his first cousin,
Edward Bellamy, author of the American socialist utopian novels,
Looking Backward (1888) and Equality (1897). Francis Bellamy in
his sermons and lectures and Edward Bellamy in his novels and
articles described in detail how the middle class could create a
planned economy with political, social and economic equality for
all. The government would run a peace time economy similar to
our present military industrial complex. The Pledge was
published in the September 8th issue of The Youth's Companion,
the leading family magazine and the Reader's Digest of its day.
Its owner and editor, Daniel Ford, had hired Francis in 1891 as
his assistant when Francis was pressured into leaving his
baptist church in Boston because of his socialist sermons. As a
member of his congregation, Ford had enjoyed Francis's sermons.
Ford later founded the