![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Flag_of_the_United_States_%25281776%25E2%2580%25931777%2529.svg/640px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%25281776%25E2%2580%25931777%2529.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
United Colonies
Name used for the Thirteen Colonies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the "United Colonies of New England", see New England Confederation, a temporary military alliance of New England Colonies formed in 1643.
The United Colonies was the name used by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to describe the proto-state comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared. Continental currency banknotes displayed the name 'The United Colonies' from May 1775 until February 1777, and the name was being used as a colloquial phrase to refer to the colonies as a whole before the Second Congress met, although the precise place or date of its origin is unknown.
Quick Facts Status, Capital ...
United Colonies (1775–1776) United States of America (1776–1781) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1775–1781 | |||||||||
![]() Thirteen Colonies of North America: Dark Red = New England colonies. Bright Red = Middle Atlantic colonies. Red-brown = Southern colonies | |||||||||
Status | Unrecognized state | ||||||||
Capital | Philadelphia (de facto) | ||||||||
Common languages | English | ||||||||
Government | Revolutionary confederation | ||||||||
President of the Continental Congress | |||||||||
• 1775 | Peyton Randolph (first) | ||||||||
• 1779-1781 | Samuel Huntington (last) | ||||||||
Legislature | Continental Congress | ||||||||
Historical era | American Revolutionary War | ||||||||
May 10, 1775 | |||||||||
July 2, 1776 | |||||||||
July 4, 1776 | |||||||||
March 1, 1781 | |||||||||
Currency | Continental currency | ||||||||
|
Close
Founding Father John Adams used the phrase "united colonies" as early as February 27, 1775, in a letter entitled "To the Inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay" published in the Boston Gazette: