[SWAMY]

There was a poem or a pledge that was entitled "I am an American" The first few words were : "I am an American, a free American! I am free to speak without fear....." and on.
It was back in about 1946 that I once was taught this pledge by a homeroom teacher who was the best of patroits.

Does anyone know the correct title and the complete words??

Thanks!, SWAMY

[Robin Hickman]

Hello, SWAMY !

Welcome to the USA-Flag-Site Forum !

The name of the pledge that you are looking for is, "The Freedom Pledge". I found it using Google and you can too!

Here's an easy-to-remember saying that I came up with a few years ago :

"When In Doubt, GOOGLE It Out!"

Originally, I came up with the saying because people kept sending me e-mails (usually "forwarded forwards") with all kinds of totally unbelievable (to me, at least) CRAP! It was so easy to use Google to prove it was crap, BUT... I had to convince them to "Google it out" BEFORE they sent it out.

Anyway, Googling it out works VERY well in this case. So, How is it done? Copy/Paste a prominent phrase or sentence (10 words or less) into Google's search window and make sure that it is inside quotation marks, then hit "search". We put it inside quotation marks so Google will search for pages that contain those EXACT words in that EXACT order.

In this case, we'll use the first line of your poem: "I am an American. A free American." Using that line inside quotation marks, we'll Google it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22I+am+an+American.+A+free+American.%22&btnG= Google+Search

Google finds a total of about 30 web pages containing that particular quotation. While that's not very many pages, it is enough for us to figure out where there quote came from, what the name of it is, and the entire "Freedom Pledge" to boot!

THE FREEDOM PLEDGE

I am an American. A free American.
Free to speak—without fear,
Free to worship God in my own way,
Free to stand for what I think right,
Free to oppose what I believe wrong,
Free to choose those who govern my country.
This heritage of Freedom I pledge to uphold
For myself and all mankind.


You can use the same method for finding lyrics to songs/poems when you only know a couple of lines. You can use it to find out if a quotation from a famous person is genuine or bogus. Et Cetera.

As I said at the beginning, I came up with they saying when people would "forward" me e-mails that I found "questionable" in their content or veracity. I'd Google out a sentence or two, figure out what was going on, double-check the sources, etc. THEN, I'd send a return e-mail containing the TRUTH of the matter (with PROOF) and request that they use the info in my e-mail to send a "follow-up" e-mail to everone else along with an apology from them.

I can't say if any of them actually did it or not. BUT... at least I CAN say that I get a whole lot FEWER of those kind of e-mails !!!

Try It! You'll Like It!

Robin "When In Doubt, GOOGLE It Out (BEFORE You Send It Out)!" Hickman

[SWAMY]

WOW! Robin ! I am impressed!! I do use the Google very often and this time it was my fault for using some rather wimpy words to home in on! This Pledge must have been generated during WW-2 as I was a student in Grammer school at that time. It has remained almost indelable but I simply have heard it recited so infrequently!

I thank you for your kindness in doing the keyboard work,this old man greatly appreciates the efforts!

[Robin Hickman]

Hi, Swamy !

You're welcome!

"Googling It Out" works on almost everything that you can enter "multiple word sets" (phrases or sentences). It even worked on another thread in this forum ("My Own America" - right below this one), although not with as good results.

Anytime you've got something to share, or a question about, the American Flag, just keep coming back !

Robin "I'm Googling As Fast As I Can!" Hickman

[Ken's Silver Showcase]

I first ran across this pledge a few years ago when I acquired a film titled "Our American Heritage" for my 16mm collection. This pledge is sung by a male chorus while the opening credits scroll by. My curiosity was peaked by the opening credits that mention "National Rededication Week." I'd never heard of that week and had to hunt for a bit before I learned what it was about. Here's what I learned and wrote in my catalog listing for this film:

The opening credits of the film say that RKO produced it in cooperation with the other major Hollywood studios and the American Heritage Foundation for National Rededication Week. It was “Sponsored by the Attorney General of the United States.” I have been unable to find any mention of this film in any filmography, but it seems to have been connected to the “Freedom Train” that toured the US from September of 1947 to January of 1949, visiting 322 communities in 413 days. Displayed on the train were many actual historical artifacts and documents including the Iwo Jima flag, an original copy of the Magna Carta from 1215, Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact, and a letter written by Columbus in 1493 about his discovery of the New World. Communities celebrated Local Rededication Week when the train visited. Citizens could board the train to view the displays, (which were guarded by the Marines), take the Freedom Pledge and sign the Freedom Scroll which was presented to President Truman at the end of the tour. The public response was overwhelming. Some 40 million Americans, about one fourth of the population, came to see the Freedom Train. But because of limited time and space only 3.5 million were able to actually board the train and see the displays. The rest took part in activities outside the train.