Most Americans don’t give much thought to the words printed on their money. The motto “In God We Trust” tends to be noticed mostly by those seeking out reasons to be offended — groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State that absurdly claim the motto represents an official government establishment of religion.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower made “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States in 1956, but it was 155 years ago, in April 1864, when Congress passed legislation to imprint it on the nation’s money.
Salmon P. Chase was President Abraham Lincoln’s Treasury secretary. Increased religious awareness during the Civil War was made clear to Chase from letters written to him by various religious leaders across the country. Chase instructed the director of the national mint to create a “motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.”
The director proposed “Our Country; Our God” and “God, Our Trust,” but it was Chase who decided instead to go with “In God We Trust.”
Chase lived a remarkable life. An attorney by trade, Chase served as the governor of Ohio and a senator from Ohio before going to work in the Lincoln administration. After he resigned as Treasury secretary in June 1864, he was nominated to the Supreme Court, becoming chief justice in December 1864 and serving in that role until his death in 1873.
But his ultimate legacy is the motto that appears on all U.S. currency and one that, despite countless attempts to remove, still endures.
