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Comment by jmsdnns | Hacker News Reader

It didnt have its sovereignty until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.

You can say whatever day you want is your birthday, but only one day actually is.

The Revolutionary War was over a disagreement between England and the US over the validity of the declared independence on July 4th and the US won that argument when the Treaty of Paris acknowledged the validity of the Declaration of Independence.

> It didnt have its sovereignty until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.

What? You have sovereignty as soon as you decide it. Especially if you are fighting a war to maintain your sovereignty. If the treaty was never signed, the US would still be sovereign.

Try this extreme example. Imagine if the founders decided to simply wipe out the british and there was no brit left to sign any treaty. Would the silly british king still be sovereign over the US even though the silly british king and his silly kingdom no longer existed? Of course not.

Huh, rare to see a monarchist view expressed here.

This is like saying the constitution grants rights.

Because a treaty in Europe determines sovereignty?

Yes. That's when England recognized it as a nation.

'England', or the United Kingdom?

A treaty between the breakaway rebels, and the previous claimants to sovereignty, where the previous claimants accept the rebels claims and give up their own, would seem to be a pretty good candidate for the official start date of sovereignty.

The place where the treaty was signed is much less important than what it said and who signed it, even if it ends up being named after that place.

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