http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance sure has an interesting history.

"The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister, a Christian Socialist, and the cousin of Socialist Utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) who wrote Looking Backward (1888) and Equality (1897). Bellamy's original "Pledge of Allegiance" was published in the September 8th issue of the popular children's magazine The Youth's Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America, conceived by James B. Upham."

This is from the Wikipedia article.