America 250: 250 Years Ago, Congress Officially Adopted the Name ‘United States’

On this date, September 9, exactly 250 years ago, the Continental Congress officially adopted the name “United States,” rejecting the label of “United Colonies” and thus solidifying the independence movement.We are so accustomed after two and a half centuries to living in the U.S. that we forget what a massive step it was for the Patriot colonists to stop calling themselves colonists and adopt a new national identity.