[A message capture from the USA_EURLINK Echo Conference] Date: 04 Jan 92 17:29:59 To: KAT

[A message capture from the USA_EURLINK Echo Conference]

Date: 04 Jan 92  17:29:59
From: Christopher Baker
  To: KATHY COLLINS
Subj: all others pay cash [Was: Re: In God we trust]
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> Does anyone know when "In God We Trust" was put on dollar
> bills?  I agree that it was added to our coins in 1954, but
> hasn't it always been on our bills?

yes. no. [grin]

the Constitution of these United States was ratified in 1789 without a single
reference to 'god'. at that time, 4 percent of the populace was
church-involved and every major statesman was a deist, including the first 6
presidents.

the first directions as to mottoes on currency were given in Statute II,
Chapt. II, January 18, 1837, "An Act supplementary to the act entitled 'An
Act establishing a mint, and regulating the coins of the United States.'" In
it (a) Sec. 2, Sixth read:

      "The engraver shall prepare and engrave, with the legal devices and
inscriptions, all the dies used in the coinage of the mint and its branches."

and Sec. 13 read:

      "And be it further enacted, That upon the coins struck at the mint
there shall be the following devices and legends; upon one side of each of
said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an
inscription of the word LIBERTY, and the year of the coinage; and upon the
reverse of each of the gold and silver, there shall be the figure or
representation of an eagle, with the inscription United States of America,
and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the reverse of the dime
and half dime, cent and half cent, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted."

the coinage was totally secular; as clean from a mention of god as was the
Constitution.

as the theistic community grew, its power grew so that by the pre-Civil War
days church membership was up to 23 percent. hoping to overcome the
'omission' of god from the Constitution, on February 3, 1863, 11 Protestant
denominations organized the National Reform Association whose primary mission
was to amend the Constitution of the United States to "declare the nation's
allegiance to Jesus Christ," to "indicate that this is a Christian nation,"
and to "undeniably" put the "legal basis" of the land on "Christian laws,
institutions and usages." the Association formally petitioned Congress to
amend the Preamble of the Constitution so as to read:

   "We, the people fo the United States, humbly acknowledging Almighty God as
the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus
Christ as the Ruler among the nations, His revealed will as the supreme law
of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government, and in order to
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to ourselves, our
posterity, and all the people, do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America."

pretty scary stuff, huh? [whew!]

fortunately, the "Christian amendment" never succeeded in obtaining either
approval of Congress or any state. the NRA [not the gun boys - the religion
boys] continued its efforts into the 20th century when it still had
registered lobbiests up to the late '50s.

the NRA attracted emminent men into its ranks in 1863; a Supreme Court
Justice [Strong], a couple Pennsylvania governors [Geary and Pollock], Harvey
of Kansas, Stewart of Vermont and the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode
Island to name a few.

Pollock, who became Director of the Mint, figures largely in placing the
motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins. what the religious fanatics who
advocated the "Christian amendment" could not do overtly with the support of
the electorate, was accomplished covertly, through the determination of one
of their members.

since the Act of 1837 proscribed any mottoes other than those enacted,
Pollock and his pals slipped in a seemingly innocuous amendment to the Act in
the form of "An Act in Amendment of an Act entitled, 'An Act Relating to
Foreign Coins and the Coinage of Cents at the Mint of the United States,'
approved February twenty-one, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven," was passed
by Congress on April 22, 1864. that Act read as follows:

   "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of American in Congress assembled, that, from and after the passage of
this act, the standard weight of the cent coined at the mint of the United
States shall be forty-eight grains, or one tenth of one ounce troy; and said
cent shall be composed of ninety-five per centum of tin and zinc, in such
proportions as shall be determined by the director of the mint; and there
shall be from time to time struck and coined at the mint a two-cent piece of
the same composition, the standard weight of which shall be ninety-six
grains, or one fifth of one ounce troy, with no greater deviation than four
grains to each piece of said cent and two-cent coins; and the shape [here
comes the kicker], MOTTOES [my emphasis], and devices of said coins shall be
fixed by the DIRECTOR OF THE MINT [guess who?], with the approval of the
Secretary of the Treasury; and the laws now in force relating to the coinage
of cents and providing for the purchase of material and prescribing the
appropriate duties of the officers of the mint and the Secretary of the
Treasury be, and the same are hereby, extended to the coinage provided for."

bingo! Pollock now had carte blanche to Christianize our coins. he minted 26+
million two-cent pieces with his motto. having his foot in the door, his pals
presented the shotgun to cover all our money with Jesus with, "An Act to
authorize the Coinage of Three-Cent pieces, and for other Purposes," passed
by Congress on March 3, 1865, Section Five of that Act being:

   "And be it further enacted, That, in addition to the devices and legends
upon the gold, silver, and other coines [sic] of the United States, it shall
be lawful for the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of
the Treasury, to cause the motto 'In God We Trust' to be placed upon such
coins hereafter to be issued as shall admit of such legend thereon."

the motto was applied here and there to various denominations [no pun
intended] after 1866. T. Roosevelt commissioned an artist to design new coins
in 1905 and the artist disliked the inartistic intrusion of the god motto and
opted for 'E Pluribus Unum' which T.R. also liked. the first coins with that
motto were issued in 1907.

when religious factions discovered their precious Jesus had been replaced by
a more proper and secular motto they went nuts and the issue became a
political hot potato. after a lot of bellyaching and mud-slinging, Congress
weaseled out and passed Public Law No. 120 making it a law that Jesus would
be on the coins.

the first coin minted with the legalized motto was the Lincoln penny of 1909;
a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
pretty ironic [and disrespectful too] since Lincoln hated Christianity and
everything it stood for. [sigh]

[continued in Part II - next message for short msg editor software]

____________________________________________________________________________

> Does anyone know when "In God We Trust" was put on dollar
> bills?  I agree that it was added to our coins in 1954, but
> hasn't it always been on our bills?

Part II - the 'bills'

now that god was all over the coins, things went along for awhile without
much change except that coins were being used less and less as primary
exchange and bills were becoming the main form of currency.

when the Cold War was enjoying its heyday and McCarthyism hysteria gripped
the land, the NRA [the religion boys - not the gun boys - see Part I] and
religious institutions moved again to capture the symbols of the nation.

in hysterical language of the day, the Committee on the Judiciary published
on May 10, 1954, that "...one of the greatest differences between the free
world and the Communists, [is] a belief in God." it was urged that the Pledge
of Allegiance to the Flag be altered to recognize god. PS 623 (77th Cong., 56
Stat.) effectuated that end.

On June 7, 1955, H.R. 619, "Providing for the inscription of 'In God We
Trust' on all United States Currency and Coins," was introduced in the House.
the author of the bill made his intent clear (Congressional Record, June 7,
1955, pp. 7795-96):

   "Nothing can be more certain than that our country was founded in a
spiritual atmosphere and with a firm trust in God. While the sentiment of
trust in God is universal [say what?!] and timeless, these particular four
words, 'In God We Trust' are indigenous to our country...[obviously as shown
in Part I {sigh}]." "At the base of our freedom is our faith in God and the
desire of Americans to live by His will and by His guidance. As long as this
country trusts in God, it will prevail. To serve as a constant reminder of
this truth, it is highly desirable that our currency and coins should bear
these inspiring words, 'In God We Trust.'"

the Committee on Banking and Commerce reported that the 'situation' [i.e. no
god on paper money] had not been 'remedied' sooner due to the prohibitive
cost of redesigning all the dies used in printing paper money. since they
were about to replace all the old equipment anyway and needed to make new
dies, the Committee reported it would be no financial hardship to slip "In
God We Trust" onto the paper currency.

the House passed the bill. on June 29, 1955, the Senate followed suit.

now you know. [grin]

of course, the Cold War was still on and McCarthyism still lingered so since
godding up the money had gone so smoothly, the religious forces pushed H.R.
Res. 396 on March 22, 1956, to establish "In God We Trust" as a national
motto. the rest, as they say, is history. sordid history at best but history
best remembered when somebody sez "we've always had god on our money." [sigh]

the history of the placing of this motto on our coins and currency evidences
the religious origin of it and demonstrates that the entire exercise is an
establishment of religion.

where was the First Amendment while all this went on? where is it now? buried
under political rhetoric and religious hysteria, that's where.

time for everyone to wake up!

TTFN.
Chris

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