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Concept

In God We Trust

Official national motto of the United States since 1956.

3 links, 2 backed by primary records

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Dates
30 Jul 1956 –
Also known as
In God we trust
Over time
  1. Span 30 Jul 1956 –
  2. adopted by United States government 30 Jul 1956 –

“In God we trust” became the national motto of the United States by a joint resolution that Dwight D. Eisenhower signed on 30 July 1956.

Why it was adopted then is a matter of interpretation. PolitiFact, summarizing historians, links the 1950s religious phrases to Cold War contrast with the officially atheist Soviet Union (Soviet state atheism).

Connections 3

enacted by

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower 30 Jul 1956 Primary record 12

    The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 396) was approved by the President on 30 July 1956, during Eisenhower's term.

adopted by

influenced by

  • Soviet state atheism According to PolitiFact Scholarship & press 4

    PolitiFact attributes this view to historians; it refers to the 1950s religious phrases in the Pledge of Allegiance, on currency and in the national motto.

Timeline 3 dates
  1. 30 Jul 1956 – In God We Trust
  2. 30 Jul 1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law In God We Trust
  3. 30 Jul 1956 – United States government adopted In God We Trust
Proof 4 sources
  1. Joint Resolution to establish a national motto of the United States (Public Law 84-851, 70 Stat. 732), U.S. Government Publishing Office, 30 Jul 1956. Primary record
    That the national motto of the United States is hereby declared to be "In God we trust."
  2. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Volume I: list of persons, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Primary record
    Eisenhower, Dwight D., President of the United States
  3. 36 U.S. Code § 302: National motto, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Primary record
    “In God we trust” is the national motto.
  4. America's 250th: How long has the US used the phrases 'In God We Trust' and 'Under God'?, PolitiFact, 18 May 2026. Scholarship & press
    The impetus, historians say, came from the stark ideological battle lines of the Cold War against the officially God-less Soviet Union.
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