Why Do Students Pledge Allegiance To The U.S. Flag?

Students in the U.S. have been reciting the pledge of allegiance for decades, but why?

Each day across America, in classrooms big and small, at city schools and rural ones students recite the pledge of allegiance. But why? 

Let's go back in time: It's 1892 and Chicago is preparing for the World's Fair, celebrating 400 years since Christopher Columbus discovered America. To promote the fair, a children's magazine called "The Youth's Companion" published a special edition with an early version of the pledge of allegiance. 

There is some debate over who exactly wrote the words to that version, but what's important is that it made print. The magazine's executives lobbied Congress to mark a date for celebration, and President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed October 21, 1892 as a national day to commemorate Columbus' discovery.