E pluribus unum

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Template:Lang included in the Great Seal of the United States, being one of the nation's mottos at the time of the seal's creation

Template:Lang (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell, Template:IPA, Template:IPA) (Template:Langnf,<ref name=US-Treasury/><ref name=GreatSeal/> or 'one out of many)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with Template:Lang (Latin for he approves the undertaking) and Template:Lang (Latin for new order of the ages) which appear on the reverse of the Great Seal; its inclusion on the seal was suggested by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere and approved in an act of the Congress of the Confederation in 1782.<ref name=GreatSeal>Template:Cite web</ref> While its status as national motto was for many years unofficial, Template:Lang was still considered the de facto motto of the United States from its early history.<ref name="RSAL">Template:Cite book</ref> Eventually, the U.S. Congress passed an act in 1956 (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

That the phrase Template:Lang has thirteen letters makes its use symbolic of the original Thirteen Colonies which rebelled against the rule of the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first thirteen states, represented today as the thirteen stripes on the American flag.

Original 1776 design for the Great Seal by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere. The shields with 13 initials of the colonies surrounding symbols for the six origin nations England (rose), Scotland (thistle), Ireland (harp), Holland (the Netherlands) (lion), France (fleur-de-lis), and Germany (eagle) linked together with motto.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The meaning of the phrase originated from the concept that out of the union of the original Thirteen Colonies emerged a new single nation.<ref name="The Great Seal of the United States">Template:Cite web</ref> It is emblazoned across the scroll and clenched in the eagle's beak on the Great Seal of the United States.<ref name="The Great Seal of the United States"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Origin

The 13-letter motto was suggested in 1776 by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere to the committee responsible for developing the seal. At the time of the American Revolution, the phrase appeared regularly on the title page of the London-based Gentleman's Magazine, founded in 1731,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> which collected articles from many sources into one periodical. This usage in turn can be traced back to the London-based Huguenot Peter Anthony Motteux, who had employed the adage for his The Gentleman's Journal, or the Monthly Miscellany (1692–1694). The phrase is similar to a Latin translation of a variation of Heraclitus's tenth fragment, "The one is made up of all things, and all things issue from the one" (Template:Lang). A variant of the phrase was used in "Moretum", a poem belonging to the Appendix Virgiliana, describing (on the surface at least) the making of moretum, a kind of herb and cheese spread related to modern pesto. In the poem text, Template:Lang describes the blending of colors into one. St Augustine used a variant of the phrase, Template:Lang (make one out of many), in his Confessions.<ref>Book IV, section 8.13.</ref> But it seems more likelyTemplate:According to whom that the phrase refers to Cicero's paraphrase of Pythagoras in his De Officiis, as part of his discussion of basic family and social bonds as the origin of societies and states, "When each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many (Template:Lang), as Pythagoras wishes things to be in friendship."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

While Template:Lang and Template:Lang appear on the reverse side of the Great Seal, Template:Lang appears on the obverse side of the seal (designed by Charles Thomson), the image of which is used as the national emblem of the United States, and appears on official documents such as passports. It also appears on the seal of the president, the vice president, the United States Congress, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the United States Supreme Court.

Usage on coins

Draped Bust half dollar (reverse), 1807

Template:Coin image box 1 double The first coins with Template:Lang were dated 1786 and struck under the authorization of New Jersey by Thomas Goadsby and Albion Cox in Rahway, New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The motto had no New Jersey linkage but was likely an available die that had been created by Walter Mould the previous year for a failed federal coinage proposal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mould was also authorized by New Jersey to strike state coppers with this motto and did so beginning in early 1787 in Morristown, New Jersey. Lt. Col. Seth Read of Uxbridge, Massachusetts was said to have been instrumental in having Template:Lang placed on U.S. coins.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification Seth Read and his brother Joseph Read had been authorized by the Massachusetts General Court to mint coppers in 1786. In March 1786, Seth Read petitioned the Massachusetts General Court, both the House and the Senate, for a franchise to mint coins, both copper and silver, and "it was concurred".<ref name="coins">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Lang, written in capital letters, is included on most U.S. currency, with some exceptions to the letter spacing (such as the reverse of the dime). It is also embossed on the edge of the dollar coin. (See United States coinage and paper bills in circulation).

According to the U.S. Treasury, the motto Template:Lang was first used on U.S. coinage in 1795, when the reverse of the half-eagle ($5 gold) coin presented the main features of the Great Seal of the United States. Template:Lang is inscribed on the Great Seal's scroll. The motto was added to certain silver coins in 1798, and soon appeared on all of the coins made out of precious metals (gold and silver). In 1834, it was dropped from most of the gold coins to mark the change in the standard fineness of the coins. In 1837, it was dropped from the silver coins, marking the era of the Revised Mint Code. The Coinage Act of 1873 made the inscription a requirement of law upon the coins of the United States. Template:Lang appears on all U.S. coins currently being manufactured, including presidential dollar coins whose production started in 2007, where it is inscribed on the edge along with "In God We Trust" and the year and mint mark. After the revolution, Rahway, New Jersey became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription Template:Lang.

In a quality control error in early 2007, the Philadelphia Mint issued some one-dollar coins without Template:Lang on the rim; these coins have since become collectibles.

The 2009 and 2010 pennies feature a new design on the back, which displays the phrase Template:Lang in larger letters than in previous years.<ref name=US-Treasury>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other usages

U.S. government

Other countries' governments

Sports

Arts and media

See also

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References

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Template:Navbox Template:List of official United States national symbols

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