The suggestion to include In God We Trust on our currency was presented to the Secretary of the Treasury, George W. Humphrey, in November 1953 by Matthew H. Rothert of Camden, Arkansas. Mr. Rothert's idea came to him a few months earlier while attending church one Sunday morning in Chicago. As the collection plate was being passed, it occurred to him that only the coins in the plate had this motto. He then thought that since our paper money has a much wider circulation abroad that our coins, a message about this country's faith in God could be easily carried throughout the world if it were on United States currency. Secretary Humphrey favored the idea, but he felt that congressional sanction was desirable. In March 1955, through Mr. Rothert's efforts Senator Fulbright of Arkansas introduced the bill into the Senate. Congressmen Bennett of Florida and Harris of Arkansas introduced the bill into the House of Representatives.  Matthew H. Rothert of Camden, Arkansas organized the Camden Furniture Company in the 1930s and made frequent business trips to Chicago. In 1941 he became ill with pneumonia and developed hypoglycemia (a blood disorder) for which there was no known cure. A Chicago physician properly diagnosed his problem and began treatments which helped. The doctor suggested that Mr. Rothert engage himself in some interesting hobby to keep him busy, so he became interested in coin collecting. His health began to improve.  While attending church services in Chicago in 1953, Mr. Rothert noticed as the collection plate was passed that only the coins had the motto “In God We Trust” on them. He then began a determined one-man campaign to get the phrase placed on our paper money. He wrote many letters to politicians, to the Secretary of the Treasury, and even to President Eisenhower. In his letters he said putting the motto on our currency would “affirm our trust in God in such a manner that it will be heard around the world and give moral and spiritual strength to those who realize a great nation humbly and reverently places its trust in the Almighty”.  At that time Arkansas had two powerful politicians serving in Congress. J. William Fulbright was a U. S. Senator and Orren Harris was the congressman from south Arkansas.  Fulbright was chairman of the Banking Committee that would have to approve such a request. These two men agreed with Mr. Rothert and they introduced bills into Congress making the change to our paper money. The bill became law and was signed by President Eisenhower in 1955.  The dies that are used to print the money had to be changed to add the new wording. The first paper money with the motto “In God We Trust” appeared in 1957, two years after the law was passed. Two years later, another law was passed making “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States.  Some groups felt that any mention of the word “God” on our money violated the  Constitution and the separation of church and state. These groups wanted prayer to be taken out of schools and wanted the motto to be removed from our money. Several court cases were brought, but the courts ruled that the phrase “In God We Trust” was not a religious phrase and the U. S. Supreme Court refused to hear cases appealed from lower courts on this matter. The motto even hangs on the wall of the U. S. Supreme Court. There will be more challenges in the future on this matter. We frequently hear of those groups who want the Ten Commandments and nativity scenes removed from public buildings and prayers abolished at school functions. They want any mention of God removed from anything of a public nature. I’m sure this will continue in the future.  Although things were different at the time Mr. Rothert started his campaign, it shows that a single person with determination has the power to change some of the biggest things in the world. Through his persistent efforts, a flood of letters to important people, and many speeches he gave on the subject, Matthew H. Rothert of Camden, Arkansas accomplished his goal of having the phrase “In God We Trust” appear on all paper money printed in the United States.