You’ve seen it a thousand times. It’s on the back of your nickels, etched into the floor of the Oval Office, and printed on every single dollar bill sitting in your wallet right now. But what does e pluribus unum mean when you actually strip away the Latin-induced haze? Most people think it’s just some dusty old slogan about "unity" that we keep around for the sake of tradition. They’re wrong. Well, mostly wrong.
Latin is weird. It’s a dead language that still manages to run our lives. The phrase basically translates to "Out of many, one." Simple enough, right? Except the history behind it is kind of a mess of committee meetings, a high-brow Swiss magazine, and a bunch of Founding Fathers who couldn't agree on what the American "brand" should even look like.
Where the Hell Did We Get This Phrase?
Believe it or not, the phrase wasn't original to the United States. It’s not like Benjamin Franklin woke up one day and channeled some divine Latin spirit. Back in 1776, the Continental Congress tasked Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson with creating an official seal for the new nation. They were the original "creative directors" of America.
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They didn't just pull it out of thin air. They likely grabbed it from a popular London-based magazine called The Gentleman's Magazine. Every year, the magazine would bind all its monthly issues into one big volume, and on the title page, they used the motto E Pluribus Unum. It meant "one volume made of many issues." Seriously. Our national motto was essentially a slogan for a 1700s version of a "Best Of" compilation.
Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, a Swiss artist who worked with the committee, is the guy who actually suggested it. He thought it perfectly captured the idea of thirteen distinct colonies—each with their own weird laws, religious quirks, and accents—smushing together into a single sovereign entity. It was a radical idea. People didn't identify as "Americans" back then; they were Virginians or Pennsylvanians. This motto was a psychological nudge to get them to think bigger.
The Design That Almost Wasn't
The Great Seal took six years and three different committees to finalize. It was a bureaucratic nightmare. The first version suggested by Franklin was actually way more intense—it featured a scene from the Book of Exodus with Pharaoh's army drowning in the Red Sea. Jefferson wanted a depiction of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. Luckily, we skipped the heavy religious vibes and went with the eagle.
By 1782, Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Continental Congress, finally pulled all the ideas together. He put the eagle in the center, clutched thirteen arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, and draped a scroll in its beak. That scroll? It carried the words that defined the mission: e pluribus unum meaning that the collective strength of the states was now the primary power.
Why "13" is the Magic Number
If you look closely at the Great Seal, the phrase itself has 13 letters.
E-P-L-U-R-I-B-U-S-U-N-U-M.
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- 13.
Coincidence? Probably not. The designers were obsessed with the number 13 because of the original colonies. You’ll find 13 stars, 13 stripes, 13 arrows, and 13 olives on the branch. It’s consistent, if nothing else.
- 13.
The 1956 Identity Crisis
A lot of people get confused and think E Pluribus Unum is the official national motto. It was—sort of—by custom. But in 1956, during the height of the Cold War and the "Red Scare," Congress decided we needed something more "American" to distinguish us from the officially atheist Soviet Union. They passed a law making "In God We Trust" the official motto.
This created a weird tension that still exists today. One motto focuses on the secular, political union of diverse people, while the other leans into a spiritual foundation. Honestly, most people just assume they’ve both always been there. But E Pluribus Unum is the older sibling here. It’s the one that was there at the birth of the country, and for nearly two centuries, it was the de facto slogan of the United States.
Cultural Meaning vs. Literal Meaning
What does e pluribus unum mean in a modern context? It’s complicated. If you ask a sociologist, they might talk about the "Melting Pot" theory. The idea that people from all over the world come here, dump their old identities into a giant vat, and come out as a standardized "American."
But that’s not really what the phrase was intended for.
Originally, it was about states’ rights versus federal power. It was about the "many" (the individual colonies) becoming "one" (the federal government). Over time, the meaning shifted. It became about people. It became about the idea that a person from a tiny village in Italy and a person from a bustling city in Japan could both stand under one flag.
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The Paradox of Unity
There is a natural friction in the phrase. To get to the "one," you have to respect the "many." If you lose the diversity of the many, the "one" becomes boring, stagnant, and kind of tyrannical. If you lose the "one," the many just fall into chaos and civil war. It’s a balancing act that the U.S. has been struggling with since day one.
Think about it this way:
- The "Many" represents our individual freedoms, our backgrounds, our weird hobbies, and our political disagreements.
- The "One" represents the shared rules of the game—the Constitution, the laws, and the mutual agreement not to burn the house down when we disagree.
The Latin Grammar Nerd Corner
If you want to be "that guy" at a dinner party, you should know that Unum is neuter. Why does that matter? Because it refers to a "thing," a collective unit, rather than a single person or a masculine/feminine entity. It’s about the state.
Pluribus comes from plus, meaning "more" or "many." When you put it in the ablative case (grammar is fun, right?), it implies a movement away from or out of something. So, literally, "Out of a plurality, a single thing arises."
It’s not just "Many are One." That would be Plures sunt Unum. The "E" (short for Ex) is the most important part. it implies a transformation. It’s alchemy. You’re taking lead (individual states) and trying to turn them into gold (a unified nation).
Why It’s Not Just "Fluff"
You might think this is all just semantics. It’s not. When the Supreme Court hears cases about federalism, they are essentially arguing about where the "many" ends and the "one" begins. When we debate immigration or civil rights, we are arguing about who gets to be part of the "many" that makes up the "one."
Every time you pay for a coffee with a five-dollar bill, you’re holding a piece of paper that asserts a radical political theory. It’s a reminder that the United States isn't a "natural" thing. It’s an invention. It’s a project that requires constant maintenance.
Common Misconceptions to Clear Up
- It’s not from the Bible. While the sentiment of unity is found in various scriptures, the phrase itself is strictly secular and literary.
- It wasn't chosen by the "founding fathers" in five minutes. It took years of debate and rejection.
- It’s not the only Latin on the Great Seal. Flip a dollar bill over. You’ll see Annuit Coeptis ("He has favored our undertakings") and Novus Ordo Seclorum ("A new order of the ages").
How to Apply "E Pluribus Unum" to Your Life
This isn't just for politicians. The concept of "out of many, one" is actually a pretty solid way to run a business, a family, or a fantasy football league.
- Embrace the "Many" in your team. Don't hire people who think exactly like you. You want different perspectives because that's where the "many" comes from.
- Define the "One." What is the singular goal? If your family or team doesn't have a shared "Unum," the "Pluribus" will just lead to constant arguing.
- Respect the Tension. Don't try to erase differences to achieve unity. True unity (the Unum) is only valuable if it’s made of diverse parts. If everything is the same, you don't have E Pluribus Unum; you just have "One of One," which is boring and brittle.
The Practical Takeaway
Understanding what e pluribus unum means gives you a lens to view American history that isn't just dates and names. It’s about a tension that defines the country. We are a nation of 330 million "manies" trying to be "one." It’s messy, it’s loud, and sometimes it feels like it’s falling apart. But that’s actually the point. The motto doesn't say "Everyone must be the same." It says that out of all that noise, something singular and powerful is born.
Next Steps for the History-Curious
If you want to see this in action, go to the National Archives website and look at the original sketches for the Great Seal. You can see the evolution of the motto and how close we came to having a very different-looking national identity. Also, next time you have a coin in your hand, actually look at the scroll. It’s a tiny reminder of a huge idea that we’re still trying to get right.
Stop thinking of it as a dead phrase. Start thinking of it as a job description for being a citizen. You are one of the many. What are you contributing to the one? That’s the real question the motto asks every time you see it.
Check out the works of historian Richard S. Patterson or Douglass Richardson if you want the deep-dive academic stuff on the Great Seal’s symbols. They’ve documented every single meeting and draft that led to the final version. It’s a fascinating rabbit hole that proves even the greatest nations started with a bunch of guys arguing in a room about fonts and slogans.