Florida State Motto: In God We Trust
In God We Trust
In God We Trust
The motto appears on the state seal of Florida
- Motto
- In God We Trust
- Language
- English
- Adopted
- 1868
- U.S. national motto
- 1956
- Legislation
- Florida Statute § 15.03
Florida State Motto
Florida's state motto is In God We Trust. The phrase was adopted in 1868, when Florida was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War and created its first state seal. The motto appears around the border of the Great Seal of Florida and has remained unchanged since.
The phrase is now widely recognized as the national motto of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1956. Florida had already been using it for 88 years by that point. Of all the states that use "In God We Trust" as their motto, Florida was the first to put it on an official state seal.
Florida State Motto Meaning
The phrase is a direct statement of religious faith: that the people of Florida place their trust in God. In 1868, this kind of language was common in official American documents and reflected the broadly Protestant Christian culture of the post-Civil War South.
The phrase had already appeared on U.S. coins during the Civil War era before Florida adopted it for the state seal. Florida's legislature chose it as the seal motto in 1868 not as an imitation of federal usage, but as a straightforward expression of the values they wanted attached to the new state government.
When Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto in 1956, it was choosing a phrase that had already been circulating in American civic life for nearly a century. Florida's seal had carried it the entire time.
History of Florida's State Motto
Florida was admitted to the United States as the 27th state in 1845. After the Civil War, Florida was required to meet conditions for readmission to the Union, which it achieved in 1868. As part of that process, Florida adopted a new state constitution and created the Great Seal of Florida — placing "In God We Trust" on the border of the seal from the start.
The seal was revised in 1985 to correct factual errors in the imagery — a non-native bird was removed, and the central figure was redrawn as a Seminole woman in traditional patchwork dress. The motto was not part of that revision; it stayed exactly as it had been since 1868.
In 1956, the United States Congress formally adopted "In God We Trust" as the national motto, replacing the unofficial motto "E Pluribus Unum." Florida's state motto predated this federal action by 88 years. Florida Statute § 15.03 governs the current authorized form of the seal and motto.
"In God We Trust" on the Florida State Seal
The motto appears around the outer border of the Great Seal of Florida, encircling the central imagery. The seal shows a Seminole woman scattering flowers beside a sabal palm, with a steamboat on the water and the sun rising in the background. The motto frames the entire scene.
The Florida state seal appears at the center of the state flag, on a white field crossed by a red diagonal cross. The flag places the full seal — including the motto on its border — at the intersection of the cross. The seal has been on the flag since 1900.
Florida State Motto Facts
- Florida's state motto is "In God We Trust" — adopted in 1868 when the state was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.
- Florida adopted the phrase 88 years before Congress made it the U.S. national motto in 1956.
- The phrase appeared on U.S. coins during the Civil War era before Florida put it on the state seal.
- The motto has appeared on the border of the Great Seal of Florida without change since 1868.
- The seal — with the motto — has been at the center of the Florida state flag since 1900.
- Florida was the 27th state, admitted in 1845, and readmitted after the Civil War in 1868.
Can You Match All 50 State Mottos?
Some questions show the original motto — Latin, Italian, Chinook — and ask which state it belongs to. Others give you the English translation and ask you to work backward. Both directions are harder than they look.
Take the State Mottos QuizQuick Answers
What is Florida's state motto?
What does "In God We Trust" mean?
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Sources
Florida State Symbols
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