Barney & Clyde by Gene Weingarten; Dan Weingarten & David Clark for October 03, 2012

Remember to include North America so it is not confused with the united people of South America or Central.

The official name for Mexico is “Los Estados Unidos de Mexico.”

Listen to old movies and you will here people say THESE United States. I don’t know when it changed to THE United States…?

You have it right fritzoid. Before the civil war, people considered their state membership more important than belonging to the “union.” Each decade since then has fostered a greater emphasis on being an American rather than a member of a state.

the ‘god bless’ thing is thrown in there so the religious right doesn’t get all indignant and demand impeachment for any politician not duly saying it automatically at the end of every speech

“Before the civil war, people considered their state membership more important than belonging to the ‘union.’”

My only emendation to that would be to say “some people” or “many people” (I’ll go so far as to accept “most people”), but the Federalist/States’ Rights argument goes back to the beginning. Neither has it been definitively resolved to this day, although I’m glad to see you made reference to the “civil war” (connotating a conflict within one political entity) rather than that “war between the states” nonsense (which, frankly, is only grammatically correct if you consider the USA and the CSA to be the two “states” waging war; otherwise, it would properly be “the war among the states”).

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Looks like it says America.