The COMTOISE CLOCK MUSEUM Düsseldorf congratulates the United States of America on its 250th anniversary and wishes it all the best for the future.
“May the old motto of the USA
E PLURIBUS UNUM,
which is also inscribed on the depicted Napoleonic Comtoise clock, continue to point the democrats of this world in the right direction.”
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July 4, 1776 is regarded as the founding date of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, for on that day the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE was read in Congress, the first sentence of which every democrat knows:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”
The first national motto (adopted by Congress in 1782) of the USA was: E PLURIBUS UNUM (Out of many, one).
Thirteen states joined together at that time and declared themselves independent from the King of England.
IN THE COLLECTION OF THE COMTOISE CLOCK MUSEUM THERE IS A COMTOISE CLOCK FROM THE NAPOLEONIC ERA BEARING THE US MOTTO: E PLURIBUS UNUM!
Can this motto be understood as Napoleon’s homage to the USA?
Most likely not, for Napoleon was not a democrat!
He probably interpreted the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM in his own way, as he too sought to “make one out of many.” He aimed to bring many European states together under his rule.
Therefore, when we celebrate on July 4, 2026 the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we hopefully do so in the spirit of the democratic founding fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Charles Thomson, and the other 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independence.
This special Comtoise clock E PLURIBUS UNUM holds an honorary place in the collection of the Comtoise Clock Museum and remains for future generations a cautionary example of the misuse of democratic mottos.
