--- title: HR 1157. United States national motto; reaffirm support collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1157 cite_as: HR 1157, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1157 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1157.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1157/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72631 date: 2026-02-03 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1156.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1158.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1157.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1157 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-01-29 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Jesse Petrea - Ron Stephens - Devan Seabaugh - Charles Cannon - Robert Dickey text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1157/2025 upstream_id: 2102320 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - national motto - In God We Trust - legislative resolution - American history --- # HR 1157. United States national motto; reaffirm support ## Text House Resolution 1157 By: Representatives Petrea of the 166th, Stephens of the 164th, Seabaugh of the 34th, Cannon of the 172nd, and Dickey of the 134th A RESOLUTION Reaffirming support of the United States national motto; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the United States of America’s first president, George Washington, in his first inauguration speech in 1789, stated “no people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency”;and WHEREAS, during the war of 1812, when Fort McHenry was under attack by the British. Francis Scott Key, wrote a poem entitled “The Defense of Fort McHenry” which contained the line “and this be our motto– IN GOD IS OUR TRUST”; and WHEREAS, this line, “IN GOD IS OUR TRUST,” was later incorporated into the fourth stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was declared the United States’ official national anthem by a joint resolution of Congress in 1931; and WHEREAS, in 1862, during the American Civil War, a time of great national division, the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” was adopted by regiments from both the Confederacy and the Union; and WHEREAS, in 1864, Samuel P. Chase, Secretary of the treasury, under President Abraham Lincoln, directed the Philadelphia mint to include the phrase on coinage, and the capitalized form "IN GOD WE TRUST" first appeared on the two-cent piece that same year, later expanding to all gold and silver coins in 1865; and WHEREAS, the United States Post office first placed the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” on liberty postage stamps in 1954; and WHEREAS, on July 30, 1956, both houses of the 84th Congress unanimously passed legislation that was then signed by President Eisenhower, declaring the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” to be our official national motto; and WHEREAS, in 2011, our National Motto was again recently affirmed by the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 396-6 encouraging all Americans to proudly display our motto; and WHEREAS, the display of our National Motto serves as a reflection of our National History and provides an opportunity to educate the public and commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States of America. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body reaffirm the United States national motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and support its continuation. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution reaffirms support for the United States national motto, "IN GOD WE TRUST," and directs the House Clerk to distribute copies to the public and press. ### Plain-language summary This is a resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives, not a bill that changes state law. It recounts the history of the phrase "IN GOD WE TRUST," tracing it from Francis Scott Key's writing during the War of 1812 through its use on Civil War regimental flags, its addition to U.S. coins in the 1860s, its appearance on postage stamps in 1954, and its formal adoption as the national motto by Congress in 1956. The resolution then states that the Georgia House reaffirms the national motto and supports its continued use, citing the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States as an occasion to educate the public about it. It also directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to the public and the press. It creates no new legal requirements, penalties, or funding. ### What it does - Formally states that the Georgia House of Representatives reaffirms the United States national motto, "IN GOD WE TRUST," and supports its continued use. - Recites historical background on the motto's origins, from the War of 1812 through its 1956 congressional adoption. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies of the resolution available to the public and the press. - Does not amend any Georgia statute, create any requirement, or authorize any funding. ### Who it affects The resolution mainly affects the internal record of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Clerk's office, which must prepare and distribute copies. It does not impose obligations on schools, businesses, local governments, or individual Georgians. ### Why it matters Because this is a resolution rather than a bill, it does not change any law, create any program, or require any Georgian to do anything. Its practical effect is symbolic: recording the House's position and making that statement publicly available. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses recount the history of "IN GOD WE TRUST," including its 1956 adoption by Congress and President Eisenhower as the official national motto. - The resolving clause states the Georgia House reaffirms the motto and supports its continuation. - A further resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies for distribution to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-01-29) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-03) - Sponsors: Jesse Petrea, Ron Stephens, Devan Seabaugh, Charles Cannon, Robert Dickey - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72631 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1157.md?full=1