00                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 26                                                                    
01 Recognizing June 14, 2014, as the 60th anniversary of the first recital of the United                                   
02 States Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God."                                                                 
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS, on February 10, 1954, Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan introduced                                  
05 a bill in the United States Congress to amend the United States Pledge of Allegiance by                                 
06 adding the words "under God" to the text of the pledge; and                                                             
07       WHEREAS February 10, 1954, was chosen as the date to introduce the bill by                                      
08 Senator Ferguson because it was the five-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Cardinal                               
09 Joseph Mindszenty of Hungary, who was imprisoned and tortured by the communist                                          
10 government of Hungary for his sermons exposing the goal of communism to eradicate all                                   
11 religion; and                                                                                                           
12       WHEREAS members of both political parties delivered speeches in the United States                               
13 Congress honoring Cardinal Mindszenty and emphasizing the threat posed to America by                                    
14 communism; and                                                                                                          
15       WHEREAS, upon introduction of the bill, Senator Ferguson commented, "I believe                                  
16 this modification of the pledge is important because it highlights one of the real fundamental                          
01 differences between the free world and the Communist world, namely, belief in God. Our                                  
02 nation is founded on a fundamental belief in God, and the first and most important reason for                           
03 the existence of our Government is to protect the God-given rights of our citizens. . . .                               
04 Spiritual values are every bit as important to the defense and safety of our Nation as are                              
05 military and economic values"; and                                                                                      
06       WHEREAS the vote to add "under God" to the United States Pledge of Allegiance                                   
07 was unanimous; and                                                                                                      
08       WHEREAS, on February 7, 1954, after hearing Reverend George M. Docherty                                         
09 preach that the phrase "nation under God" was used in the Gettysburg Address, President                                 
10 Dwight D. Eisenhower became convinced that adding the words "under God" to the United                                   
11 States Pledge of Allegiance would be the right thing to do; and                                                         
12       WHEREAS President Eisenhower signed H.J. Res. 243, 83rd Cong. (1954) and the                                    
13 United States Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the phrase "under God" for the first time                           
14 on Flag Day, June 14, 1954; and                                                                                         
15       WHEREAS it is the policy of the legislature to recognize and honor important dates                              
16 that strengthen the ties of history and bind us to our Christian heritage;                                              
17       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes June 14, 2014, as                                   
18 the 60th anniversary of the first recital of the United States Pledge of Allegiance with the                            
19 words "under God."                                                                                                      
20       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
21 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
22 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
23 Representatives; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; and the                                  
24 Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the                                          
25 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.