A little history on US Mottos...Yes there are apparently 2

[HereSince1628]

An earlier post today piqued my interest...and I found a bunch of sites about US mottos.

I wonder if this issue could be made into an irrational litmus test for federal judges? "Excuse me, honorable nominee, but which motto do you uphold?" One might argue that nominees would be more sympathetic to certain issues with religious/secular undercurrents than another.

But seriously, the text here says "law" but it also suggests there it was a joint resolution. Which was it? Joint resolutions don't have the authority of law do they?

Why would the Dept. of State get to choose mottos for the US?

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The following comes from http://www.statehousegirls.net/us/symbols/

In God We Trust, July 30, 1956
On July 30, 1956, a law was passed stating that "the national motto of the United States is hereby declared to be, In God We Trust." The House Judiciary Committee also rightfully recognized that the popular phrase E Pluribus Unum had also received wide usage in the United States during the Revolution, and the joint resolution did not repeal or prohibit its use as a national motto.

In 1963 the Department of State took the following position: "In God We Trust" is the motto of the United States, nevertheless, there is ample opinion and thought both in history and law for calling "E Pluribus Unum" a motto of the United States. Since then the Congress has used both.

E Pluribus Unum means "out of many, one". It comes from a popular publication during revolutionary times entitled Gentleman's Magazine which carried that legend upon the title page.