In God We Trust

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, newly elected for his second term, signed legislation in 1956, making "In God We Trust" our national motto. To understand why there was little opposition to this at the time, one has to remember the times and the fact that President Eisenhower was well loved by the majority of Americans.

Nevertheless, the motto, "In God We Trust", has upset citizens who are atheists and others of non-Christian faiths since its enactment. In the past few years, prior to the severe economic downturn we are currently experiencing, the debate had become particularly heated. I suspect now that we as a nation have more dire things to fret over, the debate will die down some. Yet, it should be no mystery to those opposed, why it came to be chosen as our national motto. They need only review the history of the 1950's to understand the national sentiments of the time.

1956, the year "In God We Trust" became our national motto, was the year that gave us such iconic brands as Crest toothpaste, Comet, Raid, Midas Mufflers, and Burger King. The country was in the midst of a burgeoning post WWII boom, and Americans were moving to the suburbs in record numbers and spending like crazy to feather their nests.

The cloud of fear of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union hovered over everything. By the 1956, the nation was convinced an attack of devastating magnitude was imminent. In addition to building many fallout shelters (it is estimated that 1 in 20 people living in the suburbs had shelters built during the 1950's), faithful Christians put their trust in the Lord that our nation would remain safe during a nuclear attack.

"In God We Trust" was put on paper currency, the one dollar silver certificate, for the first time in October of 1957, pretty much right after President Eisenhower approved it. However, 1957 was not the first time the motto had been used on U.S. money. Actually, the first time the motto appeared was on Civil War 2-cent coins in 1864. America was involved in one of its most shameful periods, and the faithful put their trust in the Lord that the conflict would not tear the nation apart. Almost 90 years later, during the Cold War, the national sentiment would once again turn to the faith instilled by our country's Christian roots.

All U.S. coins have been imprinted with "In God We Trust" since 1938. All paper currency has had the motto since1966. The debate will undoubtedly rage on, and modern citizens who are not of the Christian faith will continue to bemoan it. I wonder how many of them stop to think that were it not for our nation's Christian roots, they probably would not have the right to debate such an issue in this country today!

This is America and we all have freedom of speech, and the right to remember our Christian roots as a nation, if we so chose. The Pilgrims, this country's earliest settlers, were Christians fleeing from religious persecution. The story of the Pilgrims is central to the theme of U.S. culture and history. The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock on the beaches of Massachusetts in 1620. The Pilgrims were classified as religious separatists because they took issues with the English Church. Nevertheless, they remained God-fearing Christians, basing all of their beliefs on the teachings of the Bible. There is no doubt that they trusted in God. There can be no argument that the Christian roots of our country began with The Pilgrims and their biblical principles.

In his first inaugural speech back in 1953, President Eisenhower said, "A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both". I think he said it all right there.

Sources: 1.Wikepedia, "Pilgrims" and "In God We Trust"

2. ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency

3. Time-Life Books, The American Dream. The 50's, 1998.