MALDEN — There are 6,652 students enrolled in the Malden Public Schools. Each morning before the start of classes they join millions of fellow Americans in placing their hands over their hearts and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
It is safe to assume that not many of those students nor a lot of Malden’s 60,000 residents are aware that a Malden resident, James Bailey Upham, is one of the originators of the time-honored pledge, which debuted in 1892.
The original Pledge was first printed 125 years ago in The Youth’s Companion on Sept. 8, 1892, in connection with the program of the 1892 Columbus Day celebration. The original text said: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the first recitation of the Pledge and it coincided with the 400th anniversary celebration of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. Then President Benjamin Harrison called for a holiday in honor of the 400th Columbus discovery and on Oct. 11, 1892. Upham was home in Malden and organized a ceremony where 1,500 adults and children gathered in Malden Square and recited what is now called the Pledge of Allegiance with many American flags unfurled and on display, honoring Columbus.
To recognize the 125th anniversary of that special day in American history, Wednesday, Oct. 11, Malden will co-host a celebration with the Malden Historical Society. All are invited to Forest Dale Cemetery on Forest Street to participate in a ceremony alongside Upham’s gravesite at 4:30 p.m.
A memorial service will be held as part of the ceremony, which will include two recitations of the famous Pledge including the original version, penned by Francis Bellamy, assisted by Upham, in 1892 and the modern version, the one spoken by Malden students and millions in the U.S. to start the school day. Today’s Pledge of Allegiance is said: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
“We hope that many residents will participate with the city of Malden in honoring Mr. Upham and Malden’s role in creating this famous oath to our country,” said Mayor Gary Christenson. “We are honored that a resident from the city’s past played such an important role in our nation’s history.”
Upham, who born in New York in 1845 and died suddenly at the age of 60 in Malden in 1905, lived on Lincoln Street in the city’s West End for about 20 years. He was a member of the First Baptist Church. As a marketer at the popular children’s magazine, The Youth’s Companion, Upham devised an idea to distribute an American flag to every public school in the country and to have students recite an oath in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.
The idea caught on and was done by many schools for decades before Congress made it official in 1942, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War II.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed that “under God” would be inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance before “indivisible,” a move that had withstood a number of court challenges regarding separation of church and state.
