O'Connor's Pledge

The justice of the Supreme Court who made the most sense in the Pledge of Allegiance case was Sandra Day O'Connor. Several justices wrote opinions in the course of a unanimous decision in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow. They all brushed aside the claims by the original plaintiff, Michael Newdow, an atheist, who had said the words "under God" in the pledge violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The justices concluded that Dr. Newdow lacked the standing to speak for his daughter, who is in the legal custody of her mother, Sandra Banning, a Christian who says her daughter does not object to the pledge. The practical effect of their decision was to keep the pledge legal but to leave the door open for a future challenge by some other complainant.

Justice O'Connor, who is often a swing vote, made a broader point. "Some references to religion in public life and government are the inevitable consequence of our nation's origins,"she wrote."…It is unsurprising that a Nation founded by religious refugees and dedicated to religious freedom should find references to divinity in its symbols, songs, mottoes, and oaths."Went on she: "Certain ceremonial references to God and religion in our Nation are the inevitable consequence of the religious history that gave birth to our founding principles of liberty."

The justice cited several examples of "patriotic invocations of God and official acknowledgements of religion's role in our Nation's history." Among them was Washington's presidential inauguration on April 30, 1789, when he placed his hand upon a Bible and proceeded with the oath of office, adding, "So help me God." Justice O'Connor also cited Washington's first Thanksgiving proclamation, which began, "Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the problems of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly implore his protection and favor."

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was cited by Justice O'Connor, who focused on the part in which the 16th president resolved "that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom." Justice O'Connor cited Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first inaugural, which concluded,"In this dedication of a nation, we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come." She cited General Eisenhower's Order of the Day to the Allied Expeditionary Force on DDay, "Let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

In Justice O'Connor's words: "All of these events strongly suggest that our national culture allows public recognition of our Nation's religious history and culture." No doubt that one can go back through American history and find a similar trail of words to support freedom of individual conscience on religious matters, a trail of words to which we thrill. One of the great facts of American history is that one tendency has conquered the other, a fact that Justice O'Connor and her eight colleagues will have before them the next time they are asked to rule on this question.