“In God We Trust” became the official national motto of the United States in 1956, a symbol featured in America250 history.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law establishing the phrase as the official national motto on July 30, 1956. The law replaced neither the national seal nor earlier traditions, but it gave the country an officially designated motto for the first time.
The phrase has an older history. A variation appears in the final stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” written in 1814, and “In God We Trust” first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864 during the Civil War. It was added to paper currency beginning in the twentieth century and later became common across U.S. money.
The motto is often confused with “E pluribus unum,” Latin for “Out of many, one.” Congress adopted that phrase for the Great Seal in 1782, and it continued to appear on coins and paper money. Thus, the two phrases have different official histories.