What name for the new nation first appeared in the Declaration of Independence, central to America250?

The name “United States of America” first appeared in the Declaration of Independence, central to America250.

The phrase appears in the declaration’s formal title: “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” Congress approved the wording after the independence debate in 1776, giving the emerging country a shared national name.

Before that point, revolutionary documents commonly referred to the colonies as the “United Colonies.” The Declaration’s language reflected a political transformation: the colonies were presenting themselves as separate states joined in a common cause rather than as British possessions.

The wording is sometimes written with different capitalization in historical quotations, but the modern country name is “United States of America.” It should not be confused with “United States,” a shorter form that became common later.