Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy and published in 1892 by "The Youth's Companion" magazine. On the quadricentennial of Columbus' arrival (October 12, 1892), more than 12 million children began a required school-day ritual by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1942. The Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite the pledge in 1943. Third graders at El Carmelo School in Palo Alto recite the pledge.