IN GOD WE TRUST

On 1861-11-13, the Civil War had been raging for seven months and was not going well for of the Union, N. R. Watkinson, a preacher in the small town of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, addressed the following letter to Salmon. P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury:

Dear Sir: -

You are about to submit your annual report to Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances. One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form in our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were now shattered beyond reconstruction. Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation. What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words "perpetual union"; within this ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words "God, liberty, law."

This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection that we have personally claimed. From my heart I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.

To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.

This was not an isolated action, Watkinson belonged to the National Reform Association (NRA), a coalition of eleven Protestant denominations that wished to officially declare the USA a Christian nation and change the preamble of the Constitution accordingly.

Congress never approved of this amendment, but Chase obviously found no flaw in Watkinson's arguments, for exactly one week later he reacted by sending the following letter to James Pollack, Director of the 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.

James Pollock was himself a member of the NRA and, naturally, was overjoyed.

Still in the same year the first Half Dollars and Eagles bearing the motto GOD OUR TRUST were struck. Two years later, the Mint experimented with two more mottos, GOD AND OUR COUNTRY and IN GOD WE TRUST. The last one stuck. From 1864, it appeared on all two cent pieces; from 1866, on the larger coins from the (Quarter Dollar and higher).

Theodore Roosevelt was not a friend of this motto on coins; he felt it was close to sacrilege, since common coins might be subject to all kinds of abuse. When his plans to have it removed from future issues became known, there was a huge outcry. The result was Public Law 120 (signed 1908-05-18), which for the first time made the exact wording of the motto official. During the next thirty years, it was put on the one, ten, and five cent pieces.

With the start of the Cold War, a religious wave swept the USA. On 1954-06-14, Congress voted to add the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance; the next year it made the appearance of the motto on all coins and paper money mandatory (Public Law 140, signed by the President 1955-07-11). All currency issued after 1957-10-01 bears it.

I sincerely hope that the Senate will give its prompt approval to this proposal. In these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom, we should continuously look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom. At the base of our freedom is our faith in God and the desire of Americans to live by His will and His guidance. As long as this country trust in God, it will prevail. To serve as a constant reminder of this truth, it is highly desirable that our currency and coins should bear these inspiring words 'In God We Trust.' - Congressman Bennett of Florida, 1955-06-07

In 1956, IN GOD WE TRUST was declared national motto, replacing the original E PLURIBUS UNUM which had been approved by Congress in 1782. Attempts to challenge its constitutionality in court, 1970 and 1978, failed. Occasionally people have protested against it by stamping or blackening it out, a practice that might not be exactly legal.

IN GOD WE TRUST

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