The Bellamy Salute - History and meaning.

Original post is from @RockwellRevenge on x

“At a signal from the Principal the pupils, in ordered ranks, hands to the side, face the Flag. Another signal is given; every pupil gives the flag the military salute -- right hand lifted, palm downward, to a line with the forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat together, slowly, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” At the words, “to my Flag,” the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the Flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side.” From The Youth’s Companion, 65 (1892) the first use of the Bellamy Salute during the National School Celebration of Columbus Day. As mentioned in my previous article on Washington, the United States was founded on the Roman tradition and as a result America has adopted many symbols and practices of Rome. Nowhere was this more evident than in the legendary Bellamy Salute to the flag of the United States. This Salute however came under attack following the rise of Fascism and National Socialism by the American media, reaching a fever pitch in 1941 following the outbreak of hostilities with Japan. School boards were under pressure to revise their flag codes and for a period of time until 1942 the salute was a national one in name only due to the difference in salutes between localities. It wasn’t until June 22nd that we had a national law regulating the flag and pledge of allegiance, and on December 22nd that law was amended removing the Bellamy Salute and giving us our current pledge. This change however did not occur without notable resistance from the patriotic lineage societies envisioned by Washington to be the vanguard of the American Revolution. Perhaps the most notable defense of the Bellamy Salute came from the Daughters of the America Revolution (DAR), Madeleine P. Scharf, Secretary of the DAR’s National Defense through Patriotic Education Committee wrote the following to the National School Board. “The nation should not change our own accepted ways because of an enemies action. Rather we should stick to our own with more and more tenacity.” Another dissenting voice was the United States Flag Association (itself a union of the flag committees of all the various patriotic societies in the country including the DAR) the national headquarters of the USFA released the following statement. “Americans used the present method of saluting in rendering the Pledge to the Flag years before Naziism and Fascism were ever heard of... [It] would be unwise to attempt to make a change because the American salute is well established, and [it] would take several years and much educational work to change. It would, indeed be illogical and nonsensical for us Americans to change a well-established practice every time some foreign country adopted something similar. In times like the present the emotions are easily aroused and stirred into frenzy, or hysteria, passing all bounds of reason. Let us Americans who are normally sensible and reasonable guard against war-hysteria in this as well as in all other matters. If the Nazis, in the pagan like religion they are instituting, should invent a religious symbol similar to the Star of David, would it be logical for the Jews to discard that symbol? Or should the Nazis adopt a gesture similar to the sign of the Cross, would that give the Christians cause to discontinue making the sign of the Cross? Let the Nazis and Fas- cists go on with their salute that is their affair. Let us Americans continue using our salute to the Flag which is prescribed by the Flag Code and which we were using before anyone had ever heard of Naziism or Fascism.” We of course know how this story ends, but you might ask what happened to these patriotic organizations who fought against our nation’s subjugation? In short, they are still around so their legacy can be co-opted but they no longer do anything of note. The AFA on December 31st 1942 (9 days after the scrapping of the Bellamy Salute) was incorporated into Washington D.C. effectively outsourcing the work they did to the federal bureaucracy. The DAR on the other hand which was an organization restricted for Whites who served in the struggle for independence only, conducting rigorous genealogy studies with one of their objectives being to “Conserve the Sources of Our Race in the Anglo-Saxon Line” met a more gradual end amid sustained pressure on the part of the media and federal government. It is still around today, but effectively came to an end in 1984 after a scandal that arose due to them rejecting Black applicants led to the Washington D.C. City Council threatening to revoke the DAR's real estate tax exemption, which led to the organization accepting Black applicants for the first time in its long history. The information in this article was particularly difficult to acquire and it seems they’d prefer this chapter of our nations history be left forgotten (wonder why) so by all means feel free to share