The Nation’s first motto was “E Pluribus Unum.” What does that mean?

Why this is the answer

"E Pluribus Unum" translates to "out of many, one," and USCIS accepts that phrase or a looser version of it, "we all become one." Either is fine, since both describe many parts joining into a single whole. You can see that idea at work in the country's own history. In 1776, when the colonists adopted the Declaration of Independence, thirteen separate colonies became the United States of America, and those colonies became the first thirteen states. All of them sat along the East Coast. Over almost two centuries the Union kept adding members until Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959, and the country also counts five territories that are part of the nation without being states. Many states, one country: the count went from thirteen to fifty, and the nation is still one. For anyone who arrives from another country, the phrase also has a personal side, and the naturalization ceremony is where it plays out. Everyone present is asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance there, so everyone in the room, wherever they were born, speaks the same words together. USCIS put the same thought on the cover of its own study guide, which is titled "One Nation, One People." The question itself calls this the nation's first motto, so read it carefully when it is put to you. It asks what the phrase means, not for another national slogan. Tempting wrong answers are familiar phrases, like "In God we trust" or "liberty and justice for all," which are real expressions but do not explain these words. If you blank, remember that "pluribus" looks like "plural," meaning many, and "unum" resembles "unit," meaning one.