On July 30, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law a bill saying that the new United States motto was “In God We Trust.”
Leading Up To It
Two years before he signed the bill into law, Eisenhower signed another bill into law that inserted “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Years before when Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,” he wrote in the fourth stanza, “And this be our motto – ‘In God is our trust.'” [1] Around the Civil War, “In God We Trust” was put onto the coins. [2]
The Motto
On July 30, 1956, the Congress voted unanimously to have “In God We Trust” as our national motto. The law also said that the motto be printed on all American paper currency. [3]
Notes:
- ^https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/pdf/ssb_lyrics.pdf (go back ↩)
- ^President Eisenhower signs In God We Trust into law July 30, 1956 (go back ↩)
- ^On this day in history, July 30, 1956, ‘In God We Trust’ is declared national motto (go back ↩)
