“In God We Trust” Unconstitutional? Unjust Court-Martial of USS Indianapolis Skipper?



Chase Thought Motto on Money was a Good Idea

Chase Thought Motto on Money was a Good Idea

On This Date in History:  President Eisenhower signed into law a bill requiring “In God We Trust”  (link to a history on “in God we trust’)  be put on all currency and be considered the official US Motto on this date in 1956.   Since 1864, during the Civil War, the motto had been put on some coins but not paper currency under the direction of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P Chase.  Chase later went to the Supreme Court, which is ironic considering the “separation” issue allegedly begun by Thomas Jefferson. The “in God We Trust” bill was just two years after Eisenhower pushed for “under God” to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

 Most historians conclude this action was part of a reaction to the Red Scare of the 1950’s. Interestingly, “under God” was inserted into the US Pledge of Allegiance during Eisenhower Administration.  Eisenhower himself has been said to have admitted the he had been raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, while more modern accounts suggest he was raised as a Mennonite. Sources say that Ike abandoned his family religion but that religion was still important to him and in 1953, he was baptised as a Presbyterian, less than a year into his first term as President.

Ike Liked the Motto

Ike Liked the Motto

Today people claim the insertion of God into state mottoes and the pledge is a violation of the separation of church and state. Many defenders of the verbiage mistakenly think that the inclusion of God was mandated by our founders when in fact, “under God” and “In God We Trust” did not come along until after the founders were dead and gone.   However, there are many who say that the founders intended on the Constitution to protect the churches from the government, not the government from the church…the proverbial freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.  You make the call.  If you need some help, here are some pros and cons of both “in God we trust” and “under God.”

USSIndianapolisOn this date in 1945, the USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine. The cruiser was returning from Tinian Island where it had secretly delivered the atomic bomb. Because it was a secret mission, details of its schedule were shrouded. So much so that its late arrival went unnoticed. The Americans had intercepted a message from the sub describing the ship they had sunk. The Americans just assumed it was a boast and didn’t follow up. If you remember Jaws then you know the story as told by Captain Quint, who said he was a crew member of the doomed ship. Nearly 1200 men were on the ship.

Captain McVay

Captain McVay

About 400 died from the torpedo blast. Some 900 men went into the water but only 318 were rescued. No one showed up for a rescue for 84 hours in during that time nearly 500 men were devoured by sharks. Quint said he’d never wear a life jacket again. The Captain  of the Indianapolis, Charles B McVay III,  never sailed again as he became the only officer in US naval history to be court-martialed for losing a ship in war time.  McVay committed suicide in 1968 and many speculate he took his own life due to guilt.  But, during the Clinton Administration, Captain McVay was exonerated from fault by Congress in October 2000.  In spite of the Congressional official exoneration, the US Navy records still indicate the Captain Charles McVay was found guilty in a Court-Martial for losing the USS Indianapolis while he was in command.

Wed Evening

Wed Evening

Weather Bottom Line:  We have some consensus and also some disagreement in the forecast for the next several days.  First off, we had a lot of clouds on Tuesday and even some showers with rumbles of thunder.  That put the kabash on any chance we had of getting to 90 and it now looks inevitable that we will not get to 90 degrees for the entire month of July in Louisville.  First time since records have been kept…I think since 1872….that we have had zero 90 degree days in Louisville.  Remarkable considering that the official numbers are now kept at the airport. 

We have agreement that a front is coming through.  We have agreement that a wave will ride along that front.  The timing is the issue.  The GFS likes rain in the morning and late day, the NAM likes rain midday.  The GFS has rain again on Thursday and also Friday.  The NAM has rain Thursday afternoon into early Friday but dries it out from there.  Both suggest a relatively mild and dry weekend.  Now, the parameters for all data are not overly exciting.  There is an elevation in the Showalter Index and the Total Totals and such but nothing real alarming as the SWEAT index is somewhat pedestrian.  Strong storms with gusty winds from time to time are possible, but nothing appears imminent on the severe weather front.


5 Responses

  1. I don’t have time to check your other facts, but hopefully you spent more time on them than you did Dwight Eisenhower. You are arse backwards. It is older historians who intentionally hid the FACT that Ike was reared as a JW. It is more recent historians who are finally acknowedging Ike’s true religious heritage.


  2. I do not believe I ever said that what you think I said, which was that Eisenhower at one point admitted he was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness but the modern historians say he was Mennonite. What you said that I stated as fact was, in fact, an assumption on your part. There are numerous references in many texts regarding the Rivers Bretheren which is a Mennonite sect and that it was Ike’s mother who did not become a JW until her 34th year. There were also numerous reports during Ike’s time in WWII and his presidency concerning his JW past and how his going to college and being involved in the military ran counter to that upbringing. So, it was hardly a secret then. But, thanx for writing though I would wisih that you would not have used such a condescending tone, especially when the errors may indeed be your own. Discussion is better than stone throwing.

  3. The tone of the comments lately has taken a rather nasty turn, I’m afraid. I think that what is needed is a little intellectual humility. There is so little in this world that we can be absolutely certain about especially with regards to history.
    John Belski says that WAVE is going to have an announcment later about Tom Wills replacement. I hope they do a better job than WHAS and WLKY have done lately. From what I’ve seen both stations have DOWN-graded instead of upgraded their meteorological departments. Let’s hope that WAVE is going for someone that we all know and trust instead of some pretty face who doesn’t understand the weather in the Ohio Valley…let’s hope!

  4. Why is not believeing in God a good idea? And Atheism is also a religion (and has believers more fanatical then most more conventional religions) There has been a concerted effort to convince the population there is no God and we all came from apes. Is it any wonder people behave the way they do? You are not helping.

  5. “Captain Obvious,” while I do not necessesarily disagree with some of your points, it seems what is most obvious is that you did not read the post. If you had you would have noted that the content said nothing to suggest anything that you imply by each of your sentences individually and collectively. You are entitled to your opinion but I do take exception at your accusations against me that are without merit.

Leave a Reply


WordPress.com Logo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Google+ photo


Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: