George MacPherson Docherty (May 9, 1911 – November 27, 2008) was a Scottish-born American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and principal initiator of the addition of the words "under God" to the

Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...

Early life

Docherty was born in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1911. After graduation from

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and a three-year pastorate at Aberdeen's North Kirk, he set sail from Southampton to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1950.

Ministry

Docherty succeeded

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

as the pastor of the historic

New York Avenue Presbyterian Church The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The church was formed in 1859–1860 but traces its roots to 1803 as the F Street Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and anoth ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, just a few blocks from the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

routinely attended church there while president. It was customary for later presidents to attend

on "Lincoln Sunday," the Sunday nearest Lincoln's birthday, and sit in the pew that had been rented by Lincoln. When President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

attended on Lincoln Sunday, February 7, 1954, Docherty preached a sermon calling for the addition of "under God" to the Pledge. As a result of his sermon, the next day President Eisenhower and his friends in Congress began to set the wheels in motion to amend the Pledge of Allegiance to include the phrase. On February 8, 1954, Representative

Charles Oakman Charles Gibb Oakman (September 4, 1903 – October 28, 1973) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Oakman was born in Detroit, Michigan; attended the public schools and Wayne State University. He graduated from the University of Mic ...

(R-Mich), introduced a bill to that effect. Senator Homer Ferguson, in his report to the Congress, March 10, 1954, said that "the introduction of this joint resolution was suggested to me by a sermon given recently by the Rev. George M. Docherty, of Washington, D.C., who is pastor of the church at which Lincoln worshipped." This time Congress concurred with the Oakman-Ferguson resolution, and Eisenhower opted to sign the bill into law appropriately on Flag Day (June 14, 1954). The fact that Eisenhower clearly had Docherty's rationale in mind as he initiated and consummated this measure is apparent in a letter he wrote in August, 1954. Docherty's sermon was published by Harper & Bros. in New York in 1958 and President Eisenhower took the opportunity to write to Docherty with gratitude for the opportunity to once again read the fateful sermon. Docherty continued at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church for 26 years. During that time he became active with

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. He developed relationships with later Presidents, as well as noted theologians such as

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

and

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

. For 22 years, Docherty had a television program in Washington, D.C. A book of his sermons entitled, ''One Way of Living'', was published by Harper in 1958, and his biography, ''I’ve Seen the Day'', was published by Eerdmans in 1984. His sermon collection is now in the stewardship of the Robert E. Speer Library at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

. A collection of original recordings of his early sermons are now in the care of the Harvard Divinity Library in Cambridge.

Retirement and death

After retiring from New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in 1976, Docherty and his family moved back to Scotland. In 1979, he was asked to join the faculty of

Juniata College Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those wh ...

in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for a year. Several years later he would return again to

Alexandria, Pennsylvania Alexandria is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 388 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land. Demographics As of th ...

, near

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

. Docherty died at his home in Alexandria on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2008."Pastor Who Helped Get 'Under God' in Pledge Dies," Associated Press, as published i
''The Washington Post'', November 29, 2008

References

External links

"How 'Under God' Got in There," WASHINGTON POST
* ttp://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20020628undergod0628p3.asp "How the Pledge Got God," Pittsburgh Post-Gazettebr>How a Scotsman Rewrote America's PledgeDocherty's Sermon Manuscript, February 7, 1954Minister Reprises "Under God" SermonCentre Daily Obituary
in the

Centre Daily Times The ''Centre Daily Times'' is a daily newspaper located in State College, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the hometown newspaper for State College and the Pennsylvania State University, one of the best-known and largest universities in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Docherty, George Macpherson Scottish emigrants to the United States Alumni of the University of Glasgow Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders 20th-century Christian clergy Clergy from Glasgow Burials in Pennsylvania 1911 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American clergy 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland