The Bellamy salute, originated in 1892, it was a palm-out salute described by Francis Bellamy, “as the gesture to accompany the pledge.”
During the 1920s and 1930s, Nazi Germany used a similar salute. Naturally, this ignited a debate in the US.
The Bellamy Salute was officially replaced by the hand-over-heart salute on December 22, 1942.