Follow Up on The Birthday of the United States of America versus Independence Day

I write to follow up on my post from June 21,The Birthday of the United States of America versus Independence Day, in which I observed that many Americans have been referring to Independence Day as the “birthday" or “anniversary” “of the United States” or some similar expression, even though the U.S. was not formed until thirteen years later in 1789. It is part of an overall pattern that stood out this year, of references to the birthday or anniversary of “the country,” or “nation,” even though America is neither a nation, nor a nation-state, but a union of States, none of which are nation-states, and not a country. These examples are part of a pattern of references to the birthday or anniversary or founding of “America,” as if the declaration of the independence of the thirteen British American Colonies was about the formation of some kind of political entity, instead of simply the change of status of the former Colonies as independent sovereign States. The Second Continental Congress, which had approved the resolution declaring the independence of the Colonies from the United Kingdom, some of which had already declared their independence, was no more a central government than before the declaration, or than the First Continental Congress in 1774, or the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. The States were only loosely tied together through the Congress, which was an interstate organization, much like the international organizations of today. It is only in some general sense that 1776 marked the beginning of “America” in the sense of American independence, i.e. of the several American States. Americans today, as I noted, seem to view their origin through the lens of the federal Union of States formed by the Constitution. Furthermore, they wrongly regard States as administrative provinces of some superstate, instead of as the sovereign entities they are, albeit ones that have loaned some of their powers to the Union of States, known as the United States. The widespread ignorance of the basic meaning of independence and the purpose of the American Revolution, which was for equality, liberty and representative government, leaves Americans vulnerable to the threats to independence and freedom today. I urge Americans to learn more about the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution.