In God We Trust

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IN GOD WE TRUST

IN GOD WE TRUST is the motto that has appeared on most issues of U.S. coins since about 1864. Its use on coins stems from the rise of religious sentiment during the Civil War, which led many devout persons to urge that God be recognized on American coins. Accordingly, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase asked the director of the mint at Philadelphia to have prepared a suitable device expressing this national recognition. Several other mottos were suggestedamong them, "God Our Trust" and "God and Our Country." The use of "In God We Trust" is not required by law.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schwartz, Theodore. A History of United States Coinage. San Diego, Calif.: A. S. Barnes, 1980.

Thomas L. Harris / a. r.

See also Evangelicalism and Revivalism ; Treasury, Department of the .