Actual Poster Size 11" x 14"

In God We Trust National Motto Poster Project

Do you believe the source of America's blessings stems from a fervent trust in God?

Is there a more important message our children can learn?

When our inspired founders debated the form of government our country should take, they determined that the best form of government, and the only one which a moral people could prosper under, was that of a republic.

At that time, our founders chose as a national motto the phrase, "E PLURIBUS UNUM," which means "out of many, one". They chose this phrase to signify that the 13 original colonies were united in one country, America.

In 1956 during our country's conflict with atheistic communism, the congress of the United States voted to change our national motto to "In God We Trust," as a symbol that we utterly rejected communism. This new motto also reflected the feeling of our Founding Fathers who created the magnificent documents that have guided this Republic for over 200 years. One of the beliefs they embodied in our constitution was the notion that rights come from God and it is government's job to protect those basic unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml)

Over the years, we have seen corrupt individuals seek to thwart the moral foundation that comes from a proper form of government. We have seen the Soviet Union try to identify itself as a Republic in it's use of the acronym USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). In truth, communism was nothing but a fraudulent license to abuse their citizenry. There were no unalienable rights for the people because in their system there was no creator to bestow those rights upon the people.

In our own beloved country we have seen the increasing use of the term "democracy" to represent our form of government in a deliberate effort by some to sway public speech until people actually believe we live in a capital "D" Democracy. The only democracy we have in the United States is spelled with a little "d" which is what Western civilization is trying to spread, the notion that people have a right to vote to elect their representatives. A large "D" Democracy as a form of government, rejects the notion that rights come from God by saying rights come from government and the majority makes the rules. James Madison, one of our founders and former presidents, described Democracies in the Federalist Papers as follows:

From this view of the subject it may be concluded that a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual. Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. (Federalist Paper 10)

He also said of Republics:

A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking. (Federalist Paper 10)

This poster project was begun to ensure that the one message our children grow up with a full dose of, is that the only consistent thing they can hang their hat on every day is, trust in God is the source of a full life.

Initially I just want to provide a poster to every classroom in my own school district (Alpine-Utah). At the encouragement of several state legislators, I have expanded what was a district project to take orders from around the state, and I suppose country as well, so that you can donate posters to your school's teachers and/or district.

In doing this I am releasing the poster image with a public domain license. You may download the graphic and print posters for your school or district as desired.

I have also prepared a one-page curriculum to accompany the poster, which will facilitate a short discussion on the national motto in the classroom when hanging the poster (hopefully next to the flag so children see it each day during the pledge of allegiance), as well as on September 17th as part of a Constitution Day program to remind children a little about the history of our country.

There is no greater gift to provide to children than an understanding that their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, come from a just God that gave mankind agency to choose to live as full a life as they could, and no man or government on earth can take those rights away.

If you want to print your own, here are links to download the poster and curriculum page.

UTAH has had these posters delivered to every public school classroom in the state.  It's up to the teacher to choose to post it in his/her classroom, but they've all received them.

In Utah, we have a law on the books that allows for posting these documents in every public school classroom.

Utah Statute 53A-13-101.4 Study and posting of American Heritage Documents
(4) To increase student understanding of, and familiarity with, American historical documents, public schools may display historically important excerpts from, or copies of, those documents in school classrooms and common areas as appropriate.
(5) There shall be no content-based censorship of American history and heritage documents referred to in this section due to their religious or cultural nature.
(6) Public schools shall display "In God we trust," which is declared in 36 U.S.C. 302 to be the national motto of the United States, in one or more prominent places within each school building.

Click here for some guidelines to create an Eagle Scout Project to distribute posters in your state.

I do not have any copies remaining of these posters but I am releasing the poster design above into the public domain. Anyone can print their own copies and distribute them. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at posters@oaknorton.com.