[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24507-24508]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE REVEREND GEORGE M. DOCHERTY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2008

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work 
of the Reverend George M. Docherty, whose influential sermon in 1954 
led to the insertion of the phrase ``under God'' in the Pledge of 
Allegiance. Reverend Docherty passed away on Thanksgiving Day in his 
home in Alexandria, PA at the age of 97.
  Reverend Docherty came to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland to 
become the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was 
attended by President Lincoln in the 1860s and later became known as

[[Page 24508]]

``Lincoln's church.'' It is tradition for the President to attend a 
special service at the church on the Sunday closest to Lincoln's 
birthday. It was during this special service on February 7, 1954, that 
Reverend Docherty gave a sermon before President Dwight D. Eisenhower 
calling for the Pledge of Allegiance to be amended to acknowledge God. 
Reverend Docherty took the phrase ``under God'' from the Gettysburg 
Address, in which Lincoln said, ``this Nation, under God, shall have a 
new birth of freedom.''
  Reverend Docherty first heard the Pledge of Allegiance from his then 
7-year-old son, Garth, and was surprised that it made no reference to 
God. He argued in his sermon to the President that ``To omit the words 
`under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive 
factor in the American way of life.'' Without any acknowledgement of 
God, Reverend Docherty said the pledge could apply to nearly any 
nation, including the communist Soviet Union. The sermon had an 
immediate effect on President Eisenhower, and several bills were 
introduced in Congress that week to amend the Pledge. The bill to add 
``under God'' to the Pledge of Allegiance was signed into law by 
President Eisenhower just 4 months later on Flag Day 1954.
  The Pledge of Allegiance is a national symbol of unity and a 
reflection of our shared ideals upon which this country was founded, 
and it is with great honor and respect that we honor the life and 
service of Reverend George Docherty. Our great thanks go to this 
remarkable individual, and our thoughts and prayers are with his 
family.

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