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Watkinson, a Pennsylvania clergyman, encouraged the positioning of "In God We Trust" on coins at the war's outset in order to help the North's cause. Such language, Watkinson wrote, would "put us openly under the magnificent protection." Putting the phrase on coins was just the start. In 1864, with the Civil War still raging, a group supported by the North's significant Protestant denominations began promoting modification to the preamble of the Constitution.

However, such invocations of God in national politics were not to last. In spite of lobbying by significant Protestant denominations such as the Methodists, this so-called Sovereignty of God modification was never validated. The 1849 liberty head style by James B. Longacre. Though "In God We Trust" was included to coins, it was not contributed to the increasingly common fiat money.

As I show in my book, these developments were related to the spread of secularism in the post-Civil War U.S. For lots of people at the time, putting religious language in the Constitution or on signs of federal government was not constant with American perfects. The revival of 'In God We Trust' The 1950s, nevertheless, saw a significant renewal of religious language in government and politics.

In 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower signed an expense positioning the expression on all American currency. This Site of that legislation, Congressman Charles Bennett, echoed the sentiments that had influenced the Sovereignty of God change during the Civil War. Bennett announced, that the U.S. "was established in a spiritual environment and with a firm rely on God." The next year, "In God We Trust" was adopted as the first authorities motto of the United States.

Capitol's 'In God We Trust' plaque. Both of these advancements showed the desire to highlight Americans' spiritual commitment in the early years of the Cold War. Historians such as Jonathan Herzog have actually narrated how leaders varying from President Eisenhower to the evangelist Billy Graham worried on the strong faith of the country in setting the U.S.

Recently, however, Princeton University historian Kevin Kruse has actually revealed that spiritual language was not simply rhetoric against communism. "In God We Trust" reflected domestic concerns too. The belief in American worship that put "In God We Trust" on coins and made it the nationwide motto in the 1950s had actually emerged over several decades.