Alex Diamond

HISTORY 1700-054
2/25/15

Signature Assignment

In God We Trust
According to the Dept. of Treasury The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on
United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil
War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons
throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins.
From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated
November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the
Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania (DOT)
In God We Trust happened just after the Civil War. Americans needed something to
hold them to the idea that God was on their side, that the U.S. was not a heathen country. They
needed the idea that in the end, God could hold them together. This was an idea that everyone
seemed to agree with. The people of that time needed something to grab and hold onto after
something as bloody as the Civil War, as a constant reminder that fit in their pocket and made
them feel good about fueling the economy. It was first proposed that the words God, Liberty,
and Law be inscribed on coinage, in 1863. Chase agreed, but proposed something a bit
different. Chase writes I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the
Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND
OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE

TRUST. (DOT) In 1865 an act of congressed allowed In God We Trust to be attached to all
silver and gold coins, and eventually they would make their way onto paper money. The Dept. of
treasury points out Congress passed the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 (DOT) This
allows all money to legally have the stamp of approval of the motto.

The motto has not always been seen in a good light to everyone though. The law has seen
multiple lawsuits in regards to The Separation of Church and State. The first suit that
challenged the motto was in the early 70s. In Aronow v. United States, the court did not think
that Aronow had a case as a taxpayer, but he felt very strongly about this issue and decided to go
in front of the Ninth District Court to prove his point. The court ultimately ruled this case in the
favor of the U.S. The judges statement read It is quite obvious that the national motto and the
slogan on coinage and currency 'In God We Trust' has nothing whatsoever to do with
the establishment of religion. Its use is of patriotic or ceremonial character and bears no true
resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise. ...It is not easy to discern any
religious significance attendant the payment of a bill with coin or currency on which has been
imprinted 'In God We Trust' or the study of a government publication or document bearing that
slogan. In fact, such secular uses of the motto was viewed as sacrilegious and irreverent by
President Theodore Roosevelt. Yet Congress has directed such uses. While 'ceremonial' and
'patriotic' may not be particularly apt words to describe the category of the national motto, it is
excluded from First Amendment significance because the motto has no theological or ritualistic
impact. As stated by the Congressional report, it has 'spiritual and psychological value' and
'inspirational quality.'" (Aronow) There was another case that came in later in the 21st century
and I believe there will be more in the future, but more now the courts decision on past cases are
very easy to understand and the majority of people agree with.

The Pledge of Allegiance

Let us first talk about the composer of the pledge Francis Bellamy, Francis was a
Baptist minister and originally wrote the pledge without the words Under God. These
were not added until it was put as a requirement in 1954. Bellamy worked as a magazine
editor for the promos section. On the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus sail to
the new world, Bellamy had a great idea to bring to President Harrison. Jones states
Columbian Exposition in October 1892, the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus'
arrival in the New World. Bellamy successfully lobbied Congress for a resolution
endorsing the school ceremony, and he helped convince President Benjamin Harrison to
issue a proclamation declaring a Columbus Day holiday. (Jones) This became a very
significant day in history and we still celebrate it today. After Bellamy lobbied for this, he
heard about a commemorative program to make a new salute for school children, and his
boss encouraged him to do it. Jones recounts The idea was in part a response to the Civil
War, a crisis of loyalty still fresh in the national memory. As Bellamy sat down at his
desk, the opening words"I pledge allegiance to my flag"tumbled onto paper. (Jones)
The rest was history. Congress didnt officially adopt this until 1942. At the time it was
written, the Civil War was still fresh in peoples minds.
This seems to fall into the same reason that In God We Trust was implemented.
People wanted something that could build young minds in the right direction for
patriotism. This also saw many court cases especially after the words Under God was
added. Jones points out following a lobbying campaign by the Knights of Columbusa
Catholic fraternal organizationand others, Congress approved the addition of the words

"under God" within the phrase "one nation indivisible." On June 14, 1954, President
Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law (Jones). During the time of the change both
the Cold War and the Korean War were at the nations attention. The Cold War was a time
when the U.S. was panicked over communism. This period sent the American public into
uproar about anything that did not come off as American. Though no correlations are
drawn directly to this the fact, McCarthyism was at its full swing during and the pledge
was a perfect way to show patriotism. And like In God We Trust, people could feel
more safe knowing that their pledge had God on their side.

Endowed by their creator

Let us first look at where these words appear in the declaration 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. This quote makes the assertion that these rights are for all
Americans and will forever hold true in history. The line endowed by their creator
seems to hold different meanings depending on who you ask. Jefferson felt very
passionately about these words. As a Christian Deist, Jefferson believes in the ethics and
the non-mystical teachings of Jesus while denying he was a deity. Belief in God + God
given reason = Deism. This statement is made by modern Deists this rang true with
Deism of Jeffersons time. Jefferson was making a statement when he said endowed by
their creator. He was saying that whoever your God was, your life and liberty matters.
Jefferson was a complicated man, but he had a deep belief that the Bible was flawed and

ended up writing his own bible with all of the mysticism taken out. Jefferson wanted to
live in a society where people could read teachings and philosophy without being bogged
down by stories, as well as build ethics and reason to come to conclusions themselves.
A quote by Jefferson sums up his views on the creator. "The Christian god can
easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations.
The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one
wishes to know more of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look
at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes: fools and
hypocrites. (Carr) You can see Jefferson did not care for the vanilla God defined by so
many people of his time. The creator to him was not a God of fear and destruction that
others saw. Jefferson had a belief that if you live your life ethically, you are a good
person.

Citations

Aronow v. United States, 432 F.2d 242, 243 (9th Cir. October 6, 1970).
History of 'In God We Trust' U.S. Department of treasury 3/8/11
http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx

Jeffrey Owen Jones The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance Smithsonian Museum 11/03

"from a letter to Peter Carr" (no date) 2/23/15