In God We Trust

...E pluribus unum was approved for use on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. What many do not know is that the other motto that appears on U.S. coins and currency, In God We Trust, was not officially approved by Congress until 1956. The Congressional Record of that year reads: "At the present time the United States has no national motto. The committee deems it most appropriate that In God We Trust be so designated as United States national motto." Why 1956? Probably because the nation was beset at that time by fears of "Godless communism."

...Although the origins of the phrase are obscure, some think it stems from one of the lesser-known verses of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which includes this line: And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'

...The motto first appeared on U.S. coins during the Civil War, when Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase sent this instruction to the director of the U.S. Mint: "Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in his defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition."

...The use of In God We Trust on American money has been the subject of debate, even before the 1956 act of Congress declaring it the national motto. Some have thought it violates the separation of church and state.

...Theodore Roosevelt opposed it. Ah, but his opposition was for a quite different reason: He thought it a sacrilege to inscribe the name of God on something so common as money!

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