In all of the founding documents, the 13 states are referred to in the plural. In the concluding paragraph of “The unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen united States of America,” which is always referred to as merely “The Declaration of Independence,” it says that the 13 colonies or states “are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” After the Revolutionary War, King George III of England signed a peace treaty with the United States, which was defined as the individual 13...




















