In article ,
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Because that's when the US officially declared independence from
Britain.

Precisely my point: that's when things formally got started, insofar as
one can identify one single date for that. And July 1st, *not* Dec. 11th,
is the analogous date for Canada.

The ratification of the Constitution is irrelevant, as it's not the
document which established or named the United States.

There is actually room to argue about that. The US was "established" only
in the loosest possible sense before the ratification of the Constitution.
It resembled a single nation about as much as the CIS resembles one today.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert |