Judge declares Pledge unconstitutional

I know that this decision will cause an uproar among conservatives (and probably a fair number of non-conservatives), but I just want to make one point that many people aren't aware of:

The original Pledge, written by a Baptist minister in 1892, didn't even contain the words "under God". This phrase was added 62 years later (in 1954) by the McCarthy-led Congress following a campaign that was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. It was a fairly overt ploy by conservatives to change a patriotic oath into a sort of prayer.

I don't care greatly whether this judicial decision stands. You've got to pick your battles, and there are certainly more important ones than this. But it's useful to know the history.