View source for With God, all things are possible

{{short description|Motto of the U.S. state of Ohio}}
[[File:West Seal, Capitol Square, Columbus, Ohio.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ohio's seal and motto are displayed at the foot of the steps leading to the [[Ohio Statehouse]]'s west entrance.<ref name="Statehouse west">{{cite web|title=Winter – West Seal|publisher=Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board|access-date=January 26, 2015|url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/media/winter-west-seal}}</ref> This installation was the subject of a 1997 federal lawsuit that was decided in favor of the state.<ref name="Peterson" />]]

'''With God, all things are possible''' is the motto of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Ohio]].<ref name="Peterson">{{cite court|litigants=American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and The Rev. Matthew Peterson v. Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board|vol=243|reporter=F.3d|opinion=289|court=6th Cir.|date=2001|url=http://openjurist.org/243/f3d/289/american-civil-liberties-union-of-ohio-and-the-reverend-matthew-peterson-v-capitol-square-review-and|access-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref> Quoted from the [[Gospel of Matthew]], verse {{Bibleverse-nb|Matthew|19:26|KJV}}, it is the only [[List of U.S. state and territory mottos|state motto]] taken directly from the Bible ({{Langx|el|παρὰ δὲ θεῷ πάντα δυνατά}}, ''para de Theō panta dynata'').<ref name="Peterson" /><ref name="NYT Fritsch">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/30/weekinreview/holy-cow-ohio-has-a-motto-problem.html|title=Holy Cow! Ohio Has A Motto Problem|last=Fritsch|first=Jane|date=April 30, 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 4, 2008}}<!-- https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E7DA1739F933A05757C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink --></ref> It is defined in section 5.06 of the [[Ohio Revised Code]]<ref>{{ORC||5|06}}</ref> and sometimes appears beneath the [[Seal of Ohio]]. The motto was adopted in 1959 and survived a federal constitutional challenge in 2001.<ref name="Peterson" /> The state maintains that it is a generic expression of optimism rather than an endorsement of a particular religion.<ref name="Peterson" />

==Usage==
The motto appears beneath the [[Seal of Ohio]] on the official letterhead of some state and county agencies.<ref name="SpartanburgHJ Sidoti">{{cite news|title=Debate over Ohio's Bible-quoted motto won't go to high court|first=Liz|last=Sidoti|location=Spartanburg, South Carolina|work=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]]|agency=Associated Press|date=June 8, 2001|page=A4|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=liYfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6889,2323812|via=Google News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Athens County, Ohio, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2018|first=Jill A.|last=Thompson|publisher=Athens County Auditor's Office|date=2019|at=cover|access-date=December 14, 2019|url=http://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Reports/2019/Athens_County_18-Athens.pdf#page=7|format=PDF}}</ref> A large-scale version is displayed in a plaza near the [[Ohio Statehouse]].<ref name="NYT Steinfels">{{cite news|title=Trusting in God is one thing, but saying all things are possible with God is quite another. Or is it?|first=Peter|last=Steinfels|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 29, 2000|access-date=January 20, 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/29/us/beliefs-trusting-god-one-thing-but-saying-all-things-are-possible-with-god-quite.html}}</ref> The state motto appears on the flag of [[Franklin County, Ohio|Franklin County]], beneath the county seal, which is based on the state seal.<ref name="Statehouse Franklin">{{cite web|title=Franklin County Flag|publisher=Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board|access-date=January 26, 2015|url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/county-flags/franklin}}</ref> [[List of school districts in Ohio|School districts in Ohio]] are required to accept and display any donated copy of the motto that meets certain criteria.<ref>{{ORC|33|13|801}}</ref>

[[File:Ohio license plate 2013.jpg|thumb|right|"Ohio Pride" license plate]]

The [[Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles]] uses the motto frequently. As one of 46 phrases printed on the "[[Vehicle registration plates of Ohio|Ohio Pride]]" license plate design introduced on April 15, 2013, the motto is located on two lines in the center-left of the baseplate, below "[[National Inventors Hall of Fame|Inventors Hall of Fame]]" and above "[[Beautiful Ohio]]".<ref name="BMV Pride">{{cite web|title=New Ohio Pride License Plate|publisher=[[Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles]]|access-date=January 20, 2015|url=http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/ohio_pride.stm|archive-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120133923/http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/ohio_pride.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Driver's licenses and identification cards issued since 2019, including those that comply with [[Real ID Act|Real ID]] requirements, incorporate the motto into a faint [[watermark]] on the obverse side.<ref>{{cite web|title=Making Ohio Driver Licenses and Identification Cards More Secure|publisher=Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles|date=March 8, 2018|page=2|access-date=December 14, 2019|url=https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/links/newDL-ID-FACT-SHEET.pdf#page=2|format=PDF}}</ref>

Until 1997, the motto was found most commonly on income tax forms issued by the [[Ohio Department of Taxation]].<ref name="NYT Steinfels" /><ref>{{cite book|title=1997 Ohio Individual Income Tax IT-1040EZ Forms and Instructions|publisher=[[Ohio Department of Taxation]]|year=1997|page=1|access-date=February 1, 2015|url=http://www.tax.ohio.gov/Portals/0/forms/ohio_individual/individual/1997/IT_1040EZ_Instructions.pdf}}</ref> The department stopped using the motto in its annual report in 2002.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Letter from the Tax Commissioner|chapter-url=http://www.tax.ohio.gov/portals/0/communications/publications/annual_reports/2001_annual%20report/1-letter.pdf|title=2001 Annual Report|publisher=Ohio Department of Taxation|date=October 26, 2001|access-date=February 1, 2015|url=http://www.tax.ohio.gov/communications/publications/annual_reports/2001_annual_report/publications_annual_report_2001.aspx|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Letter from the Tax Commissioner|chapter-url=http://www.tax.ohio.gov/portals/0/communications/publications/annual_reports/2002_annual_report/3_tc_letter.pdf|title=2002 Annual Report|publisher=Ohio Department of Taxation|date=June 27, 2003|access-date=February 6, 2015|url=http://www.tax.ohio.gov/communications/publications/annual_reports/2002_annual_report/publications_annual_report_2002.aspx|format=PDF}}</ref>

==History==

===Early mottos===
[[File:Seal of the Northwest Territory.png|thumb|right|Seal of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the River Ohio]]

Ohio is considered the successor to the [[Northwest Territory]], whose [[Seal of Ohio#Territorial seal|seal]] bore the [[Latin]] motto ''{{lang|la|Meliorem lapsa locavit}}'', meaning "He has planted one better than the one fallen." This motto, which may have come from the [[Seal of South Carolina]], celebrated the [[internal improvements]] that succeeded in pushing back the wilderness.<ref name="Reinke">{{cite journal|first=Edgar C.|last=Reinke|title=Meliorem Lapsa Locavit: An Intriguing Puzzle Solved|location=Columbus, Ohio|journal=[[Ohio History]]|publisher=[[Ohio History Connection]]|volume=94|date=Winter 1985|page=74|url=http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=94&pages=68-74|access-date=2015-02-10|archive-date=2015-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210121845/http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=94&pages=68-74|url-status=dead}}</ref> The seal's first recorded use was on a proclamation on July 26, 1788.<ref name="Bennett">{{cite web|first1=Pamela J.|last1=Bennett|first2=Alan|last2=January|title=Indiana's State Seal—An Overview|publisher=[[Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau|Indiana Historical Bureau]]|date=January 21, 2005|access-date=May 31, 2008|url=http://www.in.gov/history/2804.htm}}</ref> Ohio's statehood in 1803 left it without a motto, though ''{{lang|la|Meliorem lapsa locavit}}'' remains the motto of [[Belmont County, Ohio|Belmont County]].<ref name="Statehouse Belmont">{{cite web|title=Belmont County Flag|publisher=Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board|access-date=January 26, 2015|url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/county-flags/belmont}}</ref>

On February 19, 1866, future [[Ohio Department of Education|Superintendent of Public Instruction]] William D. Henkle wrote to [[Ohio Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[William Henry Smith (American politician)|William Henry Smith]], listing 125 Greek, Latin, and French phrases from which to choose a state motto. It was apparently thought that a motto of classical origin would be more dignified than one in English.<ref name="Lindley">{{cite journal|title=A State Motto|first=Harlow|last=Lindley|journal=[[Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly]]|publisher=[[Ohio History Connection|Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society]]|volume=53|issue=2|date=April 1944|pages=160–165|url=http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=53&pages=160-165|access-date=2015-02-10|archive-date=2015-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210123233/http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=53&pages=160-165|url-status=dead}}</ref> On April 6, a [[Ohio Republican Party|Republican]] [[Ohio General Assembly|General Assembly]] passed 57&nbsp;SB&nbsp;172, adopting an elaborate new state seal and coat of arms. The coat of arms bore the motto ''{{lang|la|[[Imperium in imperio|Imperium in Imperio]]}}'', [[Latin]] for "An Empire Within an Empire" or "Sovereignty Within Sovereignty",<ref name="McDonald">{{cite book|title=States' Rights and the Union: Imperium in Imperio, 1776–1876|first=Forrest|last=McDonald|author-link=Forrest McDonald|location=[[Lawrence, Kansas]]|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|date=November 2002|isbn=978-0-7006-1227-7|url=http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/mcdsta.html|access-date=2008-11-04|archive-date=2015-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120115742/http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/mcdsta.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Senate 57">{{cite journal|title=March 28, 1866|journal=Journal of the Senate of the State of Ohio for the Regular Session of the Fifty-Seventh General Assembly|volume=62|year=1866|page=391|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuFDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA391|via=Google Books|last1=Senate|first1=Ohio. General Assembly}}</ref> number 85 on Henkle's list.<ref name="Lindley" /> Governor [[Jacob Dolson Cox]] used the new seal and motto for the first time in a proclamation on November 5.<ref>{{cite web|title=Proclamation by Jacob D. Cox, Governor of the State of Ohio|first=Jacob Dolson|last=Cox|author-link=Jacob Dolson Cox|date=November 5, 1866|access-date=February 1, 2015|url=http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p267401coll32/id/2461/rec/3|via=Ohio Memory}}</ref> Though it was intended to extol the state's grandeur, the motto was thought to be too pretentious and ironically recalled [[states' rights]] only a year after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name="Knabenshue">{{cite journal|title=The Great Seal of Ohio|first=Samuel S.|last=Knabenshue|journal=[[Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications]]|publisher=Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society|volume=10|issue=4|date=April 1902|pages=489–490|url=http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=10&pages=489-491|access-date=2015-02-01|archive-date=2015-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210102146/http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=10&pages=489-491|url-status=dead}}</ref> The historian Rush R. Sloane would later describe it as "a sort of climax of absurdity".<ref name="OHHist seal">{{cite journal|title=Great Seal of Ohio|first=Emilius Oviatt|last=Randall|journal=Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications|publisher=Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society|volume=10|issue=3|date=January 1902|pages=392–393|url=http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=10&pages=388-394|access-date=2015-02-10|archive-date=2015-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210123230/http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/display.php?vol=10&pages=388-394|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Sloane">{{cite conference|first=Rush R.|last=Sloane|title=The Organization and Admission of Ohio into the Union and the Great Seal of the State|book-title=Ohio Centennial Anniversary Celebration at Chillicothe, May 20–21, 1903, under the auspices of the Ohio State Archælogical and Historical Society: complete proceedings|conference=Ohio Centennial Anniversary Celebration|location=[[Chillicothe, Ohio]]|publisher=[[Ohio History Connection|Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society]]|year=1903|via=[[Internet Archive]]|pages=90–119|oclc=855752|lccn=04018527|url=https://archive.org/details/ohiocentennialan00ohiorich}}</ref>

[[File:Emblems of USA 1876 - Ohio.png|thumb|right|An illustration of the 1866 seal, which bears the motto ''{{lang|la|Imperium in Imperio}}'']]

On May 9, 1868, facing significant cost overruns associated with the new seal, a [[Ohio Democratic Party|Democratic]] Assembly repealed the entire statute.<ref name="OHHist seal" /> Representative Jacob Wolf proposed to leave the motto in place, while Representative [[Francis Bates Pond]] proposed to replace it with ''{{lang|la|Fiat justicia ruat cœlem}}'', Latin for "Let justice be done even if the sky falls".<ref>{{cite news|title=Ohio Legislature [Official Report]|location=Columbus, Ohio|work=[[The Ohio State Journal]]|date=March 26, 1868|page=3|url=http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16007coll22/id/45274/rec/1|via=Ohio Memory}}</ref> Despite these legislators' efforts, the state was once again left without an official motto.<ref name="NYT Fritsch" />

After 1868, there were hundreds of unsuccessful attempts to designate a new state motto.<ref name="NorwalkRH testifies">{{cite news|title=11-Year-Old Testifies In Senate On Adopting Motto|location=Norwalk, Ohio|work=[[Norwalk Reflector|Reflector-Herald]]|agency=United Press International|volume=172|issue=46|date=February 24, 1959|page=1|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/norwalk/norwalk-reflector-herald/1959/02-24/|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref> On June 29, 1933, the Senate passed a resolution declaring "Gateway to the West" to be the motto, but it did not pass the [[Ohio House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ohio May Have Another Motto|work=Quarterly Bulletin|publisher=Historical Society of Northwestern Ohio|volume=8|date=June 29, 1933|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqrjAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> In the early 1950s, the General Assembly sponsored a contest to choose a motto.<ref name="SOS">{{cite book|chapter=State Motto|title=Profile Ohio|publisher=[[Ohio Secretary of State]]|year=2011|access-date=January 20, 2015|chapter-url=http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/ProfileOhio/SymbolsofOhio/motto.aspx|archive-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120130346/http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/ProfileOhio/SymbolsofOhio/motto.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1953, Representative Anna F. Heise O'Neil introduced a bill to designate a state motto in time for Ohio's sesquicentennial, but it was tabled.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bulletin|publisher=Ohio General Assembly|year=1953|page=252|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFEPAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> A 1957 proposal to place "Home of Light and Flight" on the seal would have celebrated [[Thomas Edison]]'s birthplace in [[Milan, Ohio|Milan]] and the [[Wright brothers]]' hometown of [[Dayton, Ohio|Dayton]].<ref>{{cite news|title=357 New Bills Introduced To Establish Day's Record|work=The Zanesville Signal|date=March 7, 1957|page=23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/19042443/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The same year, State Senator Lowell Fess sponsored a bill backed by the Ohio [[American Legion]] that would have restored ''{{lang|la|Imperium in Imperio}}''.<ref name="Blade hopper">{{cite news|title=Legislature's Hopper Holds Grist For Official Ohio Motto|location=Toledo, Ohio|work=The Blade|agency=Associated Press|volume=122|date=February 6, 1957|page=3|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zlZIAAAAIBAJ&pg=5803,6421099|via=Google News}}</ref>

===Current motto===
In March 1958, ten-year-old Jimmy Mastronardo of [[Cincinnati]] wrote to ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'', pointing out that Ohio was the only one out of 48 states that lacked a motto.<ref name="Enquirer Radel">{{cite news|title=A mom to match our state motto|first=Cliff|last=Radel|work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=September 4, 1998|access-date=January 20, 2015|url=http://enquirer.com/columns/radel/1998/09/090498cr.html}}</ref><ref>However, [[Washington (state)|Washington state]] has never adopted an official motto. Its unofficial motto is {{lang|chn|Al-ki}} or {{lang|chn|Alki}}, meaning "bye and bye" in [[Chinook Jargon]].</ref> He recommended the phrase, "With God, all things are possible."<ref name="Enquirer Radel" /> [[Ohio Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Ted W. Brown]] encouraged him to promote his proposal to legislators and registered him as a lobbyist.<ref name="Peterson" /> He called his State Senator, William H. Deddens, who invited him to testify before the Senate State Government Committee on February 24, 1959.<ref name="NorwalkRH testifies" /> Mastronardo gathered 18,000 signatures in a petition drive,<ref name="Enquirer Radel" /><ref name="WarCry">{{cite news|title=Boy Sponsors Motto|work=[[The War Cry]]|publisher=The Salvation Army|date=September 12, 1959|page=16|access-date=January 26, 2015|url=https://archive.org/details/war-cry-1959-Sept-12|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> initially collecting them door to door and at a local food festival.<ref name="NorwalkRH testifies" /> On June 22, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill adopting his motto, after he was given the unprecedented privilege of addressing the House from the speaker's podium.<ref name="Blade nears">{{cite news|title=Motto For Ohio Nears Adoption|location=Toledo, Ohio|work=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Blade]]|agency=Associated Press|date=June 23, 1959|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QCYxAAAAIBAJ&pg=7276,5137263|via=Google News}}</ref> Governor [[Michael DiSalle]] signed 103&nbsp;SB&nbsp;193 into law in July, effective October 1, 1959.<ref name="Enquirer Radel" /> The motto made its first appearance on a state publication the following year, when the Secretary of State's office distributed a pamphlet about state symbols to schoolchildren.<ref name="SanduskyRegister seal">{{cite news|title=New Motto Put On State Seal|location=Sandusky, Ohio|work=[[Sandusky Register]]|agency=United Press International|date=February 26, 1960|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/4941234/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Although the motto is widely understood to come from [[Jesus]]' words in [[Jesus and the rich young man|an encounter with a rich young man]], Mastronardo told reporters that he simply proposed his mother's favorite saying, unaware of its Biblical origin.<ref name="Enquirer Radel" /><ref name="LimaNews scooter">{{cite news|title=Scooter Bill Gets Final Test Today|location=Lima, Ohio|work=[[The Lima News]]|agency=United Press International|volume=75|issue=168|date=June 17, 1959|page=4|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/lima/lima-news/1959/06-17/page-4|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref> At a statewide meeting of elections officials, Brown presented him with a Citation Award while a surprise guest, comedian [[Joe E. Brown]], praised the twelve-year-old for his efforts.<ref name="Sun authors">{{cite news|title=Authors State Motto|location=North Canton, Ohio|work=The Sun|volume=48|issue=4|date=October 7, 1970|page=6|url=http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16007coll23/id/27031/rec/4|via=Ohio Memory}}</ref><ref name="CoshoctonTribune 11">{{cite news|title=Ohio's Official Motto 11 Years Old Today|location=Coshocton, Ohio|work=[[Coshocton Tribune]]|volume=62|issue=19|date=October 1, 1970|page=6B|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/coshocton/coshocton-tribune/1970/10-01/page-18|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref> Mastronardo also received an [[Flag of Ohio|Ohio flag]] embroidered with the motto.<ref name="Enquirer Radel" />

===Controversy===
[[File:Vidhana Soudha motto, 2014.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"Government Work Is God's Work" is inscribed in [[Kannada language|Kannada]] and English above the entrance to the [[Vidhana Soudha]].]]

In April 1996, Governor [[George Voinovich]] returned from a [[trade mission]] to India,<ref name="CincyPost trade">{{cite news|title=Group to sell Ohio in trade trip to India|department=News|work=[[The Cincinnati Post]]|publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company]]|agency=Associated Press|date=April 3, 1996|access-date=January 21, 2015|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72892659.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329154436/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72892659.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref> where he had seen the inscription "Government Work Is God's Work" ({{langx|kn|ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕೆಲಸ ದೇವರ ಕೆಲಸ}}) prominently displayed on the [[Vidhana Soudha]], the state capitol of [[Karnataka]] in [[Bangalore]].<ref name="Insight Harper">{{cite news|title=All Things Are Possible – except, of Course, Jesus|first=Jennifer|last=Harper|location=Washington, D.C.|work=[[Insight on the News]]|publisher=News World Communications|date=October 12, 1998|access-date=|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-21212834|via=}}{{dl|date=July 2021}}</ref> This display gave him the idea for a similar inscription of Ohio's motto on the [[Ohio Statehouse|Statehouse]] in Columbus, as part of a ${{format price|110000000}} renovation project that was nearing completion.<ref name="Blade public">{{cite news|title=Public, private citizens wield day of prayer for political gain|location=Toledo, Ohio|work=The Blade|agency=Associated Press|date=May 3, 1996|page=16|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TIEUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3457,667021|via=Google News}}</ref> He went public with the proposal at an observance of the [[National Day of Prayer]] in May.<ref name="Blade public" /> In November, the Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board decided to instead install a seal and motto on a plaza adjoining the Statehouse.<ref name="District">{{cite court|litigants=American Civil Liberties Union v. Capitol Square Review|vol=20|reporter=F. Supp. 2d|opinion=1176|court=S.D. Ohio|date=1998|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/20/1176/2423413/|access-date=January 21, 2015}}</ref>

In 1997, just before the bronze fixture was to be installed, the Ohio affiliate of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) sued the board, Voinovich, Secretary of State [[Bob Taft]], and several other state officials.<ref name="District" /> The ACLU alleged that the state had violated the [[Establishment Clause]] in the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] to the U.S. Constitution and a similar clause in the [[Constitution of Ohio|Ohio Constitution]].<ref name="Peterson" /> The state argued that its motto was not explicitly Christian, likening it to the national motto, "[[In God We Trust]]", and the use of "[[under God]]" in the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]].<ref name="SpartanburgHJ Sidoti" /> It was explained as "a compelling symbol of hope, inspiration and stick-to-it-iveness". The ACLU represented a Cleveland-area Presbyterian associate minister who objected to the state's trivialization of a quote attributed to Jesus.<ref name="Peterson" /> An ACLU-sponsored poll in the spring of 1997 found that only two percent of [[Summit County, Ohio|Summit County]] residents were aware of the motto.<ref name="Peterson" />

On September 1, 1998, [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio|U.S. District Judge]] [[James L. Graham]] upheld the motto, finding it to be "[[Ceremonial deism|generically theistic]]" without [[Endorsement test|endorsing]] any particular denomination, but he enjoined the state from citing its source.<ref name="District" /> The state carried out the installation within days. On April 25, 2000, a panel of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals]] reversed the lower court ruling, finding that "the words have no secular purpose and appear to be a government endorsement of the Christian religion".<ref name="BeaverCountyTimes Nolan">{{cite news|title=Ohio motto, 'With God, all things are possible,' ruled a no-no|first=John|last=Nolan|location=Beaver, Pennsylvania|work=[[The Beaver County Times|Allegheny Times]]|publisher=Beaver Newspapers|agency=Associated Press|date=April 26, 2000|page=A1|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7aI1AAAAIBAJ&pg=5274,6561871|via=Google News}}</ref> However, the [[Council on American–Islamic Relations]] disputed this finding, citing verse {{cite quran|2|106|b=n|s=ns}} of the [[Quran]],<ref name="BocaRatonNews Muslims">{{cite news|title=Muslims want Christian quote kept as Ohio motto|location=Delray Beach, Florida|work=[[Boca Raton News|Delray Beach News]]|agency=Associated Press|volume=45|issue=139|date=May 5, 2000|page=10A|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XylUAAAAIBAJ&pg=4013,875828|via=Google News}}</ref><ref name="Blade Tarjanyi">{{cite news|title=Islam leaders join dissent of judgment|first=Judy|last=Tarjanyi|location=Toledo, Ohio|work=The Blade|date=April 28, 2000|page=6|access-date=February 15, 2015|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c0pPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6692,4192572|via=Google News}}</ref> while the [[World Vaisnava Association]] objected on the basis of Hindu scriptures.<ref name="Blade Hindus">{{cite news|title=Hindus call Ohio ruling 'absurd'|location=Toledo, Ohio|work=The Blade|date=May 27, 2000|page=B5|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wUlPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6723,3638008|via=Google News}}</ref>

By this time, there was significant public support for the motto. A June 2000 Ohio Poll conducted by the [[University of Cincinnati]] found that 62% of Ohioans were aware of the April ruling; of them, 11% agreed with it while 88% disagreed.<ref name="Enquirer poll">{{cite news|title=Poll finds motto ruling unpopular|work=The Cincinnati Enquirer|publisher=Gannett Company|agency=Associated Press|date=July 16, 2000|access-date=January 22, 2015|url=http://enquirer.com/editions/2000/07/16/loc_poll_finds_motto.html}}</ref> The [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] weighed in, voting 333–27 (with 66 voting "present") to pass a non-binding resolution, sponsored by Representatives [[Mike Oxley]] and [[Tony P. Hall]] of Ohio, that expressed support for Ohio's motto and others that refer to God. The entire Ohio delegation except for Representative [[Stephanie Tubbs Jones]] voted in favor.<ref name="CincyPost Straub">{{cite news|title=House votes in support of Ohio's state motto|first=Bill|last=Straub|work=The Cincinnati Post|publisher=E. W. Scripps Company|date=June 28, 2000|access-date=January 20, 2015|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63120165.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329151300/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63120165.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2000-06-27/pdf/CREC-2000-06-27-house.pdf#page=36 106 HR 494]</ref> By December, [[Ohio Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Betty Montgomery]]'s office had received 15,000 letters of support regarding the ACLU case, more than on any other issue during her term.<ref name="NWCN Montgomery">{{cite news|title=Pledge, motto get support|first=Betty|last=Montgomery|author-link=Betty Montgomery|department=Letter to the editor|location=Columbus, Ohio|work=Northwest Columbus News|publisher=Suburban News Publications|volume=29|issue=19|date=July 14, 2004|page=7A|access-date=February 6, 2015|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hIdQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4669,4047461|via=Google News}}</ref><ref name="EllensburgDR mull">{{cite news|title=Federal judges mull Christmas as a holiday and Ohio's God motto|location=Ellensburg, Washington|work=[[Daily Record (Washington)|The Daily Record]]|agency=Associated Press|volume=99|issue=297|date=December 16, 2000|page=B3|access-date=February 15, 2015|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kygfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6356,3363556|via=Google News}}</ref>

On March 16, 2001, after an ''[[en banc]]'' review, the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Graham's ruling 9–4, leaving the motto in place. In a dissenting opinion, Judge [[Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr.]], expressed skepticism that the state fully intended to separate religious meaning from these words. He noted that Ohio officials had frequently explained the motto to their constituents in religious terms: Secretaries of State from Brown to Taft had cited Matthew 19:26 in pamphlets, and in 2000, Montgomery wrote to constituents that "the destruction of our state motto is part of a carefully constructed plan to strip America of every last symbol of our faith."<ref name="Peterson" /> On June 7, 2001, the ACLU declined to appeal the case further, fearing the repercussions of an adverse ruling by a conservative [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref name="SpartanburgHJ Sidoti" />

==Similar mottos==
As noted in ''ACLU v. Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board'', the federal government also invokes God in both its [[United States national motto|official motto]], "[[In God We Trust]]", and in the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]]. Three federal circuit courts have affirmed the national motto (see ''[[Aronow v. United States]]'', ''O'Hair v. Murray'', and ''Gaylor v. United States'').<ref name="Peterson" />

Besides Ohio, several other states, territories, and cities refer to God on their seals without quoting the Bible:
* [[Seal of South Dakota|South Dakota's seal]] bears the motto "Under God the people rule". [[Seal of Colorado|Colorado's]] includes ''{{lang|la|Nil sine numine}}'', [[Latin]] for "Nothing without providence" or "Nothing without the Deity". [[Seal of Arizona|Arizona's]] includes ''{{lang|la|Ditat Deus}}'', meaning "God enriches".<ref name="NYT Steinfels" /> The mottos of all three were chosen before statehood by territorial governors.
* [[Seal of Florida|Florida's seal]] bears the national motto.
* Although [[Kentucky]]'s official motto is "[[United we stand, divided we fall]]", in 2002 the legislature also adopted ''{{lang|la|Deo gratiam habeamus}}'' ("Let us be grateful to God") as the state's Latin motto.<ref>[[Kentucky Revised Statutes]] section [http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=41 2.105] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905073800/http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=41 |date=2015-09-05 }}</ref>
* [[Seal of American Samoa|American Samoa]]'s motto is {{lang|sm|Samoa Muamua Le Atua}}, which means "Samoa, let God be first".{{sfn|Grabowski|1992|p=47}}
* [[Boston]]'s motto is {{lang|la|Sicut patribus sit deus nobis}}, "As to our fathers may God be to us".

The [[coat of arms of Puerto Rico]] bears the motto ''{{lang|la|Joannes est nomen ejus}}'', meaning "John is his name". Like Ohio's motto, it is a quotation from the Bible, in this case the [[Gospel of Luke]], chapter and verse  {{Bibleverse-nb|Luke|1:63|Vulgate}}. The motto is a reference to St. [[John the Baptist]] or {{lang|es|San Juan Bautista}}, the island's original namesake. It reflects the commonwealth's strong [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] heritage as a former Spanish colony.{{sfn|Grabowski|1992|p=7}} Likewise, the reverse of [[Seal of Maryland|Maryland's seal]] bears the motto, ''{{lang|la|Scuto bonæ voluntatis tuæ coronasti nos}}'', from {{Bibleverse|Psalms|5:12|Vulgate}}, meaning "With favor Wilt Thou Compass Us as with a Shield".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/reverse.html |title=Great Seal of Maryland (reverse) |author=State of Maryland |publisher=Maryland State Archives |date=April 21, 2005 |access-date=January 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104185053/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/reverse.html |archive-date=January 4, 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette]]'', another case involving the ACLU and the Statehouse plaza
* {{Annotated link|Ceremonial deism}}

==Notes and references==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|first=John F.|last=Grabowski|title=U.S. Territories and Possessions|series=State Report Series|publisher=Chelsea House Publishing|date=1992|isbn=9780791010532|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/usterritoriespos00grab}}

{{Ohio}}

[[Category:State mottos of the United States]]
[[Category:Symbols of Ohio]]
[[Category:English phrases]]
[[Category:Establishment Clause]]
[[Category:1959 quotations]]
[[Category:Sayings of Jesus]]
[[Category:Gospel of Matthew]]
[[Category:Christianity and politics in the United States]]