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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 96 Referred in House (RFH)]

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 
        endowed 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 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 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

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the national motto 
        of the United States, ``In God We Trust'';
            (2) celebrates the national motto as--
                    (A) a fundamental aspect of the national life of 
                the citizens of the United States; and
                    (B) a phrase that is central to the hopes and 
                vision of the Founding Fathers for the perpetuity of 
                the United States;
            (3) reaffirms today that the substance of the national 
        motto is no less vital to the future success of the Nation; and
            (4) encourages the citizens of the United States to reflect 
        on--
                    (A) the national motto of the United States; and
                    (B) the integral part that the national motto of 
                the United States has played in the life of the Nation, 
                before and after its official adoption.

            Passed the Senate July 12, 2006.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.
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