Star-Spangled Motto: Pre-orders and Prizes!

July 30th is the 60th anniversary of “In God We Trust” as the Official Motto of the United States of America, despite the assertion of some that it is “E Pluribus Unum.” 

In fact, a similar phrase appears in the fourth and final stanza of a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14th, 1814:

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”

You may know that F.S. Key wrote the lyrics to “Defence of Fort M’Henry” after witnessing the blistering British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 while detained by the Royal Navy on a ship in Baltimore Harbor.

Of course, that poem, renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” went on to become Our national anthem.

So, for Our latest t-shirt design, we’ve paired that couplet, in Key’s handwriting, with an artist’s rendering of the current condition of the ‘Banner’ that was visible over Fort McHenry and inspired Key to pen that poem “by the dawn’s early light.” 
It will be on a silver (read: non-metallic, light, but not heather, gray) t-shirt to symbolize that “light”:

Pre-orders

Now, as you may also know, Our Lost Founding is a self-funded, veteran-owned business. So, if you like the idea of this shirt, and want to see it produced, I hope you’ll help us reach Our goal of:

60 pre-orders between July 30th – September 14th.

60 and July 30th to reflect the anniversary and September 14th to reflect the writing of the poem.

Prizes!

• Two (2) lucky, local Minnesota buyers will be invited to attend a weekday Minnesota Wild game with me during the the upcoming 2016-17 season, where, of course, we will hear the national anthem!
• One (1) buyer will win a print* of their choice from the website of Our good friend and designer of my concepts: shop.justinbessinger.com/product-category/home-decor 
  *(8 x 10 framed OR 18 x 24 poster)
• Three (3) buyers will win an additional Our Lost Founding shirt of their choice from Our current designs!
• Several buyers will win items from an assortment of resources from Our friend, speaker, author, and teacher Peter Heck. Check him out at peterheck.com