The good citizens of South Dakota have elected to adorn their public schools with the nation’s motto: “In God We Trust.” As you might expect, some still view those four words on anything public as an impermissible establishment of religion, a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is not. A brief review of our history and law explains why.
Go back to the War of 1812 and one will find reference to one of the earliest versions of what became the national motto. It is in the less well-known fourth verse of Francis Scott Key’s “Star Spangled Banner,” in which we read, “And this be our motto: ‘In God is our Trust.’”
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