The national motto â??In God We Trustâ? has a complicated and contested history. Even though the phrase first appeared on American coins during the Civil War, it was only officially adopted as the national motto in 1956, during the Cold War era.
Where did the phrase come from before the Civil War? There seems little doubt that it became more prominent in American parlance because of the â??Star-Spangled Banner,â? penned in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, which in its (almost never sung) fourth verse says â??And this be our motto: â??In God is our trust.â? Not quite â??In God We Trust,â? but close enough. Of course, even the â??Star-Spangled Bannerâ? did not become the national anthem until 1931, and I defer to more knowledgeable folks about whether the fourth verse was ever commonly sung.
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