We may celebrate the 4th of July as America’s birthday but September 9th marks the anniversary of the name “United States”. While this term had been used previously, it was on this day in 1776 that the Second Continental Congress officially agreed to change the name of the new country from the United Colonies to the United States.
This week’s pic is a page from the Journals of the Continental Congress which shows the text of the declaration.
If you are unable to visit the Law Library in person to consult the many volumes that make up this title, it is available online as part of the Library of Congress site A Century of Lawmaking For a New Nation.