2 days ago

Congress renames the Confederacy the “United States of America”

On September 9th in 1776, 250 years ago, the Continental Congress formally declares the name of what would eventually become a new nation to be the “United States” of America. This replaced the term “United Colonies,” which had been in general use. In the Congressional declaration dated September 9, 1776, the delegates wrote, “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words “United Colonies” have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.”

The resolution by Richard Henry Lee, which had been presented to Congress on June 7th and approved on July 2, 1776, issued the resolve, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….” As a result, John Adams thought July 2nd would be celebrated as “the most memorable epoch in the history of America.” Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4th, when Thomas Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted. That document also states, “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES.” Richard Henry Lee’s June 7th resolution began with those words, while Jefferson saved those words for the middle of his Declaration’s closing paragraph.

By September of 1776, the Declaration of Independence had been drafted, signed by most of the final 56 signers, printed and sent to Great Britain. The “independence” the 2nd Continental Congress had declared to be true on paper in July was clearly not the case in reality as the fighting continued in New England and New York and would continue for many years into the future. Independence was a fleeting desire until the war ended on Sept. 3, 1783 in Paris with the British King George III’s representatives signing a very important piece of history… The Treaty of Paris of 1783. ... See MoreSee Less