E PLURIBUS UNUM

When I received my change back at a recent lunch at Chipotle, I collected some very shiny pennies.  Looking at them more closely, I discovered some writing on it which I had never noticed before: E PLURIBUS UNUM.  Since I had never studied Latin before, I didn’t know the meaning of it and became curious.  In the meantime I learned that the phrase is included on all of our coins. 

So, what does the slogan mean?

è Out of many, one or otherwise translated as: one out of many.

 

It was for many years considered the motto of the United States from the beginning in 1776 until in 1956 when Congress voted that the new motto was to be: In God we Trust.

è The original meaning was that out of many states or colonies one single nation emerged.

è In recent years the meaning became that out of many peoples, races, religions, languages, and ancestries, one single people and nation has emerged – what we call the “Melting Pot.”