‘E Pluribus Unum’ Means That We’re One People, Not A ‘Nation Of Immigrants’

Posted For: Rotorblade

Despite the nation’s steady march toward electronic currency, a meaningful message still jingles in pockets across America: E pluribus unum. The Latin phrase, stamped on U.S. coins and paper money, means “Out of many, one.” First adopted in 1776 for the original design of the Great Seal of the United States, it symbolized the unification of the 13 colonies into a single nation. Over time, it has come to represent many people forming one country.

The principle is so foundational that Congress mandated its inclusion on U.S. coinage in the Coinage Act of 1873, alongside In God We Trust. These are not decorative phrases. As the Bible reminds us in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” By placing these mottos on our money, the nation elevated their importance and ensured they would serve as daily reminders of unity, faith, and shared responsibility.

E pluribus unum honors the collective struggle of the original colonies, which were bound together by shared culture, traditions, and a common concern that their liberties were under threat from a tyrannical British Crown. Those shared values forged a new nation and held it together through extraordinary sacrifice.

The founders never forgot the bloodshed of the American Revolution—an ordeal they did not seek but endured to secure freedom and define prosperity on their own terms. The values embedded in the Constitution still define who we are today and safeguard our liberty. The United States is built on those principles, and it cannot endure if they are disregarded. “Out of many, one” does not mean everyone becomes the same, nor does it mean the nation must accept all who arrive without regard for shared values.

In recent years, many have come to the United States for reasons disconnected from its founding ideals. They arrive expecting an America portrayed through television and social media—an effortless life sustained by government support. During the Biden era, word spread globally that food, housing, and healthcare were readily available for those who crossed the border, along with the unspoken promise that criminal enterprises could flourish in sanctuary cities.

A nation cannot become one with those who exploit its systems and refuse to assimilate. Citizenship alone does not create unity if individuals actively work against American values and institutions.

Before the age of entitlements, immigrants came to build. They formed communities, traveled in wagon trains, and forged the country through labor and sacrifice. America’s history is not without deep scars—wars, conflicts with Native tribes, Indian schools, slavery, and other shameful chapters. Yet from those struggles emerged a nation that has become a beacon to those seeking freedom. That model fails if newcomers seek only benefits rather than responsibility, or if mass migration overwhelms the culture that made the country successful.

America was founded by men who understood liberty and were willing to die to protect it. Today, many who enter illegally do not fight for freedom in their own countries but instead cross U.S. borders to live under the protections of American liberty while rejecting its values. They do not come to build, serve, or contribute. Those who shield them from deportation undermine the same principles that sustain the nation.

Weak border enforcement during the Biden administration allowed millions to enter without respect for American culture or the desire to assimilate. The result is an unavoidable and difficult task: restoring order and removing those who pull the country away from its foundational values. It is an uncomfortable process, but one best handled by law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement—not by citizens pushed toward chaos.

Nearly 250 years after its founding, the United States faces another test. History shows that freedom is costly, yet too many have forgotten its price. Americans must be willing to say “no” when liberty is threatened, rather than passively watching it erode at the hands of those who reject the culture but enjoy its protections.