Tammy Tower, age 14, of Haggerstown, Md., for her question:

WHO WROTE THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG?

In 1892, for patriotic exercises in schools to mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America, President Benjamin Harrison had public school children recite for the first time the pledge to the flag, as a solemn promise of allegiance to the United States.

The original pledge was written by Francis Bellamy of Boston. He was the associate editor of The Youth's Companion.

The National Flag Conferences of the American Legion expanded the original wording in 1923 and 1924. In 1942, Congress made the pledge part of its code for the use of the flag. In 1954 it added the words "under God.11