DonRocks Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 It was Thomas Paine (1737-1809), author of "Common Sense." If anyone has any conflicting information, please let us know here. Information obtained from "The Bathroom Triva Book" - Nuggets of Knowledge for America's Favorite Reading Room by Jack Kreismer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnb Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Exactly what were you doing when you picked up this nugget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithhemb Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 The Declaration of Independence (which refers first to "the thirteen united States of America" and later to "the united States of America, in General Congress, assembled") pre-dates Paine's reference (which was in The American Crisis #2, published in January of 1777). I guess it could be argued that Paine's version was a proper name and the Declaration's was merely a description. Paine's version was printed as "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and analogized to 'the kingdom of Great Britain" so arguments from capitalization are kind of iffy (and may represent the decision of the printer rather than Paine anyway.) FWIW, in Common Sense (Jan 1776, so pre-Declaration), Paine refers to "the free and independent states of America." The most recent piece I've seen suggests that "United States of America" may have been a term that originated somewhere within the Continental Army officer corps (which would be apt). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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