Recent controversial topic of the pledge of allegiance

Essay by thightower1981College, UndergraduateA+, July 2002

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What is Constitutional?

The Constitution. A document that was written over two hundred years ago two outline the ideals and principals of a nation. During the past few years parts of the constitution itself have come under fire, and other things in our nation, such as prayer in schools, and even our own Pledge of Allegiance, have been topics of debate and even lawsuits.

In the late 1950's a Supreme Court decision forever changed the course of our nation. The Supreme Court ruled that separation of Church and State, as outlined in the constitution, should separate all forms of the church from the schools. It is understandable that such a decision was made because the separation of Church and State states "The state shall have NO affiliation with the Church so that no man, woman or child feel alienated from that state. The church shall have no affiliation with the state so that the state has no conflict of interest with the people."

In the best interest of the United States as a whole, the great melting pot culture, the Supreme Court ruled to remove faculty organized prayer from school. This was a constitutional decision, and understandably so.

It is now 2002, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled it un-constitutional to have children in school recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag because the words "Under God" are in it. The plaintiffs that brought this to the attention of the court are Atheists, people who do not have religion, and felt that they should take it upon themselves to take one of the most important traditions of patriotism from school. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals felt that because the words "Under God" are included in the pledge, it is an unconstitutional...