Civics question 124 of 128
The Nation's first motto was "E Pluribus Unum." What does that mean?
2 accepted answers
- Out of many, one
- We all become one
You only need to give one of these. The officer accepts any of them.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
E Pluribus Unum means out of many, one, and we all become one is also accepted. The Latin phrase was chosen in 1782 for the Great Seal of the United States and read then as thirteen states forming a single nation, though it came to describe people from many origins becoming one people as well. It still appears on coins. It was never adopted by statute as the national motto; Congress made In God We Trust the official motto in 1956, during the Cold War, which is why the question calls E Pluribus Unum the Nation's first motto. Both phrases remain on American money, one carried by tradition and the other by law.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of Symbols, inside the Symbols And Holidays section of the test.