“E pluribus unum” appears on the Great Seal of the United States and means “Out of many, one.” The phrase expresses unity formed from multiple states and communities.
The motto appears on a scroll held in the bald eagle’s beak on the seal’s obverse. Charles Thomson included it in the explanatory design submitted to Congress in 1782, along with the eagle, shield, arrows, olive branch, and thirteen stars.
E pluribus unum was also used on U.S. coins for generations and remains a familiar national motto. It is different from “Annuit Coeptis” and “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” which appear on the reverse side of the Great Seal.
The phrase predates the United States and had appeared in publications before the founding era. In the America250 context, its symbolism is especially relevant because the original nation was formed from thirteen separate colonies.