At a signal from the Principal the pupils, in ordered ranks, hands to the side, face the Flag. Another signal is given; every pupil gives the flag the military salute -- right hand lifted, palm downward, to a line with the forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat together, slowly, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” At the words, “to my Flag,” the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the Flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side.
– quoted from The Youth’s Companion, 65 (1892): 446–447.
***
In some respects American fascism could be considered "benevolent fascism." The rise of fascism in America was a multi-faceted process that took place over time, and was really a part of a larger trend in the 20th century that included other nations as well. As was stated in Part I, fascism developed as a solution to perceived social and economic problems from a certain perspective - a "right-wing" perspective.
Setting the Stage for Fascism in America
The beginning of the story of American fascism starts with the conclusion of the Civil War and the start of Reconstruction. This is a complicated story in itself and one that I am not going to go into in detail. A very interesting thing about American fascism is the way in which American society has been reflected in the evolution of Pledge of Allegiance itself.
image The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. The Pledge was written by Bellamy for a national Columbus Day celebration ceremony, the program of which was published in The Youth's Companion magazine. It reflected his idea of a united America after the Civil War. At the time the country was still very much divided because of the conflict between North and South.
The Pledge reinforced the idea of ONE NATION, something important to many after the Civil War and the attempts of the South to secede.
Francis Bellamy was vice president of the Society of Christian Socialists. This was an organization that promoted the view that society should be organized based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and was critical of capitalism and individualism as corrupting forces in society. Francis Bellamy was actually the cousin of another influential Christian Socialist activist of the time, Edward Bellamy. Both Francis and Edward were involved in the Nationalist movement as well. Some 167 Nationalist Clubs sprang up around the United States after Edward Bellamy published his best selling book, Looking Backward.
Both men were involved in these clubs, though Edward was better known at the time. Looking Backward was essentially Edward's "answer" to the recently written Communist Manifesto. It was a book that attacked the positions of Communism, declared that any good society had to be founded on God's word, and basically took up some of the positions of the Socialist movement, but from a Christian perspective.
The Nationalist and Christian Socialist movements of the Bellamys were their "alternatives" to the Marxist movements of the day. While the Marxists were promoting rebellion against the State, the Bellamys promoted duty to the State.
After reciting the Pledge students were often instructed to say:
"One Country! One Language! One Flag!"
At the turn of the 20th century America was undergoing a transformation from a society of farmers to an industrial society. This is obviously known as the Industrial Revolution, and as with the Industrial Revolutions in Europe this change brought a new level of economic disparity and fragility to the American economy.
The Pledge of Allegiance was changed in the 1920s as well, reflecting changing American attitudes. In 1924 the American Legion (a conservative pro-nationalist organization) participated in having the words "my Flag" changed to "the Flag of the United States of America".
"The American Legion's constitution includes the following goal: "To foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism." One of its major standing committees was the "Americanism Commission" and its subsidiary, the "Counter Subversive Activities Committee." To the fear of immigrants, it added the fear of communism."
The above is but a few snips from a longer article with some other interesting turns:
"The United States is pursuing a different aim from that which we are pursuing in the U.S.S.R. The aim which the Americans are pursuing arose out of the economic troubles, out of the economic crisis. The Americans want to rid themselves of the crisis on the basis of private capitalist activity without changing the economic basis. They are trying to reduce to a minimum the ruin, the losses caused by the existing economic system. Here, however, as you know, in place of the old destroyed economic basis an entirely different, a new economic basis has been created. Even if the Americans you mention partly achieve their aim, i.e., reduce these losses to a minimum, they will not destroy the roots of the anarchy which is inherent in the existing capitalist system. They are preserving the economic system which must inevitably lead, and cannot but lead, to anarchy in production. Thus, at best, it will be a matter, not of the reorganization of society, not of abolishing the old social system which gives rise to anarchy and crises, but of restricting certain of its bad features, restricting certain of its excesses. Subjectively, perhaps, these Americans think they are reorganizing society; objectively, however, they are preserving the present basis of society."
http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/rise_of_american_fascism.htm
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