"In God We Trust" Expert Mike Fuljenz Admonishes Motto’s Critics
Beaumont, TX (PRWEB) September 22, 2015 -- “Some critics of In God We Trust may be ignorant of the phrase’s legal history or are deliberately ignoring the rulings of courts and resolutions of Congress,” admonished Beaumont resident Michael Fuljenz, an award-winning author who has frequently written about the national motto (http://www.INGODWETRUSTonmoney.com).
Commenting on the recent controversy (Read David Warren's AP coverage of Sep. 6, 2015 on dispute ) about the motto’s placement on police vehicles in some communities, Fuljenz explained: “The patriotic motto has withstood a long line of legal challenges to appear on our money and on government-owned property.”
“It first appeared on circulating United States coins in 1864. It has been on all our coins since 1938, became the only official national motto in 1956 with the signing of legislation by President Dwight Eisenhower, and has appeared on all our paper money since 1966,” said Fuljenz, President of Universal Coin & Bullion (http://www.UniversalCoin.com) in Beaumont, Texas.
Recent court cases include a 2013 ruling by Judge Harold Baer, Jr of the United States Southern District of New York, who dismissed the lawsuit (Case 1:13-cv-00741-HB) seeking removal of In God We Trust from coins and paper money. Judge, Baer, Jr, noted in his ruling that “the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly assumed the motto’s secular purpose and effect.”
In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution reaffirming it as the national motto and encouraging its display in all public schools and government buildings.
Fuljenz pointed out that while the motto first appeared on U.S. coins at the time of the Civil War, it actually was inspired by events a half century earlier during the War of 1812.
“In 1861, Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase received a letter from a Pennsylvania minister who requested ‘the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.’ Chase instructed Mint Director James Pollock to prepare a motto. Pollock recalled a lyric in the now-seldom sung fourth stanza of The Star Spangled Banner: ‘And this be our motto – In God is our trust.’ Pollock had the words, ‘GOD OUR TRUST,’ placed on a few experimental patterns being tested in 1861 for proposed new designs for half-dollar and $10 denomination coins,” said Fuljenz.
“After consultations and debate within the Treasury Department, the words, IN GOD WE TRUST, first appeared in circulation on a new coin denomination, copper two-cent pieces, starting in 1864,” Fuljenz added.
An award-winning detailed history of the national motto, written by Fuljenz, is available free online at http://www.INGODWETRUSTonmoney.com.
Known as America's Gold Expert®, Michael Fuljenz has won dozens of prestigious national and regional awards and honors for his consumer education and protection work in rare coins and precious metals. A respected community leader in his hometown of Beaumont, Texas, Mike also has served with distinction as a consultant to the Federal Trade Commission, United States Mint and Royal Canadian Mint, and is on the Board of Directors of the Jefferson County Texas Crime Stoppers organization and the Industry Council For Tangible Assets.
James Burns, Subterfuge Publishing, http://www.subterfugepublishing.com, +1 (409) 656-4625, [email protected]
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