Have you ever wonder how America came to adopt the motto “In God We Trust”? We have a bit of a history lesson for you today…
On March 3, 1931, Congress adopted “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem. It was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. And within it are the roots of our coming national motto.
The fourth verse includes the lines:
O thus be it ever when free men shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation;
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto ‘In God is our trust’!
“The Star-Spangled Banner” stirred patriotism across America, with its fourth verse inspiring the 125th Pennsylvania Infantry to use “In God we trust” as its battle cry at the battle of Antietam.
Also during the Civil War, a suggestion was made to recognize “Almighty God in some form in our coins.”
The task was given to James Pollock, the Philadelphia director of the mint.
He wrote, “We claim to be a Christian nation – why should we not vindicate our character by honoring the God of Nations. … Our national coinage should do this. Its legends and devices should declare our trust in God – in Him who is ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords.’”
Then in 1956, the phrase “In God we trust” was legally adopted by Congress as the official United States’ national motto.