第1个回答 2010-12-24
1.In God We Trust is the official motto of the United States and the U.S. state of Florida. It has appeared on U.S. currency since the 1860s and was adopted as the official national motto in 1956.[1] Its Spanish equivalent, En Dios Confiamos, is the motto of the Central American nation of Nicaragua.
History
The motto IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin, followed in 1866 by the 5 cent nickel (1866–1883), quarter dollar, half dollar, silver dollar and gold dollars.[1][3] It is codified as federal law in the United States Code at 36 U.S.C. § 302, which provides: "'In God we trust' is the national motto."
Use of the motto on circulating coinage is required by law. A March 3, 1865 law allowed the motto to be used on coins.[4] The use of the motto was permitted, but not required, by an 1873 law. While several laws come into play, the act of May 18, 1908,[5] is most often cited as requiring the motto (even though the cent and nickel were excluded from that law, and the nickel did not have the motto added until 1938). Since 1938, all coins have borne the motto. On July 11, 1955 it became required on all coins and currency by Act of Congress.[6] The motto was added to paper money over a period from 1957 to 1966.[1]
The phrase was legally adopted as the United States' national motto by a law passed by the 84th United States Congress in 1956. (Public Law 84-851)"[7]
One possible origin of In God We Trust is the final stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner. Written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key (and later adopted as the U.S. national anthem), the song contains an early reference to a variation of the phrase: "...And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust'."
2. E pluribus unum (pronounced /ˈiː ˈplʊərɨbəs ˈuːnəm/; Latin /ˈeː ˈpluːrɪbʊs ˈuːnũː/), Latin for "From many, one", is a dictum on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782.[1] The phrase is similar to a Latin translation of a variation of Heraclitus' 10th fragment, "Out of all things one, one out of all things." A variant of the phrase was used in Moretum, a poem about salad attributed to Virgil but with the actual author unknown. In the poem text, color est e pluribus unus describes the blending of colors into one. St Augustine used a variant of the phrase, ex pluribus unum, in his Confessions. At the time of the American Revolution, the exact phrase appeared prominently on the title page of a popular periodical, The Gentleman's Magazine,[2][3][4] which collected articles from many sources into one "magazine". The motto was suggested in 1776 to the committee responsible for the developing the seal by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere.
E pluribus unum = 13 letters
Symbolically, the phrase E pluribus unum has 13 letters (as does Annuit coeptis). This example of gematria (isopsephy) then represents the 13 colonies becoming the United States. The back of the US 2010 penny features E pluribus unum and a shield with 13 vertical stripes. The back of the US dollar includes these 13 letters among 13 symbolic references to the number 13.
3.The word Liberty is a motto which is the portion of the inscription that has special meaning to the people the coin was made for. The motto is often an inspirational message or an emotionally stirring phrase. The mottos on current U.S. coins are Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum ("out of many, one").
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