First Senate Bill of 2012: “In God We Trust”
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 13, 2012
By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Good morning, Jim. The first Senate bill introduced this session was Senator Heath’s S.B. 293 that requires “In God We Trust” to be printed on every new Georgia license plate where the county name is printed now. A decal would be available to those who prefer to put a county name in that space.
In 1861, a small-town Pennsylvania minister suggested In God We Trust as the national motto. That one suggestion led the Secretary of the Treasury to write this letter to the Philadelphia Mint director: “Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.”
The Treasury Secretary got busy and, in 1864, the two-cent coin was imprinted with “In God We Trust.” Then, on March 3, 1865 Congress passed a law authorizing all gold and silver coins to be imprinted with “In God We Trust.” Those coins were the gold double-eagle ($20), the gold eagle ($10), and the gold half-eagle ($5), the silver dollar, the half-dollar, the quarter-dollar, the nickel and the three-cent coin.
As a result of that one suggestion in 1861 from a minister in a small Pennsylvania town, all U.S. coins were imprinted with “In God We Trust” in five years. But for some reason, the motto was left off U.S. coins in 1907. So, the next year, Congress required all U.S. coins to be imprinted with the motto and on July 11, 1955, it became mandatory for U.S. paper money, as well.
On July 30, 1956, “In God We Trust” became our national motto and was unchallenged for 22 years, until lawsuits were filed against it in 1970 and 1978. But in that situation, the court ruled against Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who had said the motto violated the First Amendment. Too bad the court didn’t rule against her previous lawsuits.
Last year Georgia motorists began displaying “In God We Trust” decals on their license plates in place of the county name. When S.B. 293 passes, “In God We Trust” will be permanently imprinted on Georgia tags as they are manufactured. That’s a wonderful reminder that we are a “nation under God!” Maybe that’s the reason some folks want to destroy U. S. currency. Please call Senate Finance Committee Chairman Heath at 404 656-3943* and ask him to pass S.B. 293 out of committee. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.