George MacPherson Docherty

George MacPherson Docherty (May 9, 1911 – November 27, 2008) was a Scottish-born American Presbyterian minister and principal initiator of the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States.

Docherty succeeded Peter Marshall as the pastor of the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., just a few blocks from the White House.

When President Dwight Eisenhower 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.

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).

George Docherty (left) and President Eisenhower (second from left) on the morning of February 7, 1954, at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church ; the morning that Eisenhower was persuaded by Docherty that the Pledge of Allegiance must be amended to include the words, "under God."