E pluribus unum

Abstract

E pluribus unum is Latin for Out of many, one. This sentence is best known as one of three shown on the Seal of the United States, that was adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782. It appears on the obverse side of the seal, as well as on official documents and U.S. currency. Considered since long the unofficial motto of the United States (whereas the official motto since 1956 is In God we trust), it was originally conceived to represent the idea that a single nation would emerge out of many states.