109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 96

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

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.’’;
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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 sup-
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ply 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;
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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—

3 (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the

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

5 Trust’’;

6 (2) celebrates the national motto as—

7 (A) a fundamental aspect of the national

8 life of the citizens of the United States; and
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1 (B) a phrase that is central to the hopes

2 and vision of the Founding Fathers for the per3 petuity of the United States;

4 (3) reaffirms today that the substance of the

5 national motto is no less vital to the future success

6 of the Nation; and

7 (4) encourages the citizens of the United States

8 to reflect on—

9 (A) the national motto of the United

10 States; and

11 (B) the integral part that the national

12 motto of the United States has played in the

13 life of the Nation, before and after its official

14 adoption.

Passed the Senate July 12, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 96

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To commemorate, celebrate, and reaffirm the naniversary of its formal adoption. tional motto of the United States on the 50th an-