E pluribus unum

E pluribus unum included in the Great Seal of the United States, being one of the nation's mottos at the time of the seal's creation E pluribus unum (/iː ˈplʊrɪbəs ˈuːnəm/ ee PLUURR-ih-bəs OO-nəm, Classical Latin: [eː ˈpluːrɪbʊs ˈuːnʊ̃], Latin: [e ˈpluribus ˈunum]) (Latin for 'out of many, one', or 'one out of many') is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with Annuit cœptis (Latin for [He] favors [our] undertakings) and Novus ordo seclorum (Latin for new order of the ages) which appear on the reverse of the Great Seal; its inclusion on the seal was suggested by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere and approved in an act of the Congress of the Confederation in 1782. While its status as national motto was for many years unofficial, E pluribus unum was still considered the de facto motto of the United States from its early history. Eventually, the U.S. Congress passed an act in 1956 (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.

That the phrase E pluribus unum has thirteen letters makes its use symbolic of the original Thirteen Colonies which rebelled against the rule of the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first thirteen states, represented today as the thirteen stripes on the American flag.