Page "Pledge of Allegiance" Paragraph 10

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 along with the use 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 was issued as 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 in Chicago, Illinois.