The maxim IN GOD WE TRUST appeared for the first time in 1864 on an American coin. During that time, the nation was engaged in the bloody Civil War, and religious sentiments increased notably. The secretary of the federal treasury received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country then, urging that the United States recognize God on their coins. This widespread request was realized for the first time on the pieces of 2 cents. Since then, IN GOD WE TRUST appears on all American coins. In 1956, the Congress passed a resolution that adopted the slogan as national motto of the United States.