Rethinking the Bellamy Salute

By Mona Goldwater, Symbols & Gesture Ed.

The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance is usually accompanied by a hand-gesture, or salute. The first salute, adopted in 1892, is known as the Bellamy Salute.

The similarity of the Bellamy salute to the Nazi salute (which scholars think was directly inspired by from the U.S. salute), led Congress to mandate the hand-over-the-heart salute we now use (civilians anyhow) when saying the Pledge of Allegiance or singing the national anthem.  The Bellamy salute was decommissioned on December 22, 1942, one year after the U.S. declared war on Germany and Japan.

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