IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 96 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 13, 2006 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

To commemorate, celebrate, and reaffirm the national motto 

of the United States on the 50th anniversary of its 

formal adoption. 

Whereas the phrase ‘‘In God We Trust’’ is the national motto 

of the United States; 

Whereas from the colonial beginnings of the United States, 

citizens of the Nation have officially acknowledged their 

dependence on God; 

Whereas in 1694, the phrase ‘‘God Preserve Our Carolina 

and the Lords Proprietors’’ was engraved on the Carolina 

cent and the phrase ‘‘God Preserve Our New England’’ 

was inscribed on coins that were minted in New England 

during that year; 

Whereas while declaring the independence of the United 

States from Great Britain, the Founding Fathers of the 

Nation asserted: ‘‘We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are enVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:46 Jul 14, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC96.RFH SC96

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dowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, 

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of 

Happiness.’’; 

Whereas those signers of the Declaration of Independence 

further declared: ‘‘And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine 

Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, 

our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.’’; 

Whereas in 1782, one of the great leaders of the United 

States, Thomas Jefferson, wrote: ‘‘[C]an the liberties of 

a nation be thought secure when we have removed their 

only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people 

that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not 

to be violated but with His wrath?’’; 

Whereas the distinguished founding statesman, Benjamin 

Franklin, when speaking in 1787 at the Constitutional 

Convention, declared: ‘‘Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and 

they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To 

that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of 

consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that 

powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need 

His assistance. I have lived, Sir, a long time and the 

longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this 

truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a 

sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is 

it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We 

have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that ‘except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it.’ I 

firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his 


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concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building 

no better than the Builders of Babel. . . .’’; 

Whereas the national hero and first President, George Washington, proclaimed in his first inaugural address in 1789: 

‘‘[I]t would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first 

official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty 

Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the 

councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and the happiness of the people 

of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every 

instrument employed in its administration to execute with 

success the functions allotted to his charge.’’; 

Whereas one stanza of the ‘‘Star Spangled Banner’’, which 

was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 and adopted 

as the national anthem of the United States in 1931, 

states: ‘‘O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand, Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation; Blest 

with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land 

Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us as a 

nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 

And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust!’ And the 

star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land 

of the free and the home of the brave!’’; 

Whereas in 1861, the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. 

Chase, while instructing James Pollock, Director of the 

Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, stated: ‘‘No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe 

except in His defense. The trust of our people in God 

should be declared on our national coins. You will cause 

a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with 


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a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.’’; 

Whereas the phrase ‘‘In God We Trust’’ first appeared on a 

coin of the United States in 1864; 

Whereas in 1955, the phrase ‘‘In God We Trust’’ was designated as a mandatory phrase to be inscribed on all currency and coins of the United States; 

Whereas on March 28, 1956, the Judiciary Committee of the 

House of Representatives, in its report accompanying H. 

J. Res. 396 (84th Congress), stated: ‘‘It will be of great 

spiritual and psychological value to our country to have 

a clearly designated national motto of inspirational quality in plain, popularly accepted English.’’; 

Whereas on July 30, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower 

signed H. J. Res. 396 (84th Congress), making the 

phrase ‘‘In God We Trust’’ the official motto of the 

United States; and 

Whereas the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the formal 

adoption of the national motto of the United States, ‘‘In 

God We Trust’’, presents an opportunity for the citizens 

of the United States to reaffirm the concept embodied in 

that motto that— 

(1) the proper role of civil government is derived 

from the consent of the governed, who are endowed by 

their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; and 

(2) the success of civil government relies firmly on 

the protection of divine Providence: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 


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1 (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 

2 national motto of the United States, ‘‘In God We 

3 Trust’’; 

4 (2) celebrates the national motto as— 

5 (A) a fundamental aspect of the national 

6 life of the citizens of the United States; and 

7 (B) a phrase that is central to the hopes 

8 and vision of the Founding Fathers for the per9 petuity of the United States; 

10 (3) reaffirms today that the substance of the 

11 national motto is no less vital to the future success 

12 of the Nation; and 

13 (4) encourages the citizens of the United States 

14 to reflect on— 

15 (A) the national motto of the United 

16 States; and 

17 (B) the integral part that the national 

18 motto of the United States has played in the 

19 life of the Nation, before and after its official 

20 adoption. 

Passed the Senate July 12, 2006. 

Attest: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, 

Secretary. 


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