Dr. Richard R. Beeman

Please note the following from Dr. Richard R. Beeman, John Welsh Centennial Professor of History Emeritus, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania: 

“There is no question but that the thirteen American colonies, when they declared their independence (July 4, 1776), considered themselves "united States" in that common cause, but NOT The United States.    

And the Articles of Confederation reinforced that notion of thirteen independent and sovereign states--making it clear that the states, not the "central government," was supreme.  

Indeed, the Articles of Confederation are properly considered more of a "treaty" among those sovereign states than America's first Constitution.    

The drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution was an important step in creating the United States, but, in fact, if you look in the public press during the period between 1789 and 1865, most of the references to the central government are spelled "united States," not "United States."  

It is only after the Civil War, when the notion of a perpetual union is enforced by force of arms, that the American nation is regularly referred to as the "United States.””