America Quote by Bill Bryson
““Considerable thought was given in early Congresses to the possibility of renaming the country. From the start, many people recognized that United States of America was unsatisfactory. For one thing, it allowed of no convenient adjectival form. A citizen would have to be either a United Statesian or some other such clumsy locution, or an American, thereby arrogating to ourselves a title that belonged equally to the inhabitants of some three dozen other nations on two continents. Several alternatives to America were actively considered -Columbia, Appalachia, Alleghania, Freedonia or Fredonia (whose denizens would be called Freeds or Fredes)- but none mustered sufficient support to displace the existing name.””
About This Quote
Source Book: A Short History of Nearly Everything, 2003
Early US legislators debated renaming the nation to avoid awkward demonyms, but no alternative gained enough support to replace “America.”
In simple terms: They tried to find a better name but kept “America.”
Key Takeaway
Consider how names shape identity.
Themes
language
national identity
political history
branding
Mood
reflective
historical
Type
political
cultural
When to use this quote
- government debates
- public opinion
- media coverage
- education
Key Concepts
naming conventions
cultural perception
Questions to Reflect On
- What would a new name imply for national identity?
- Why do people resist changing established names?
A Different Perspective
Changing a country’s name is politically and culturally complex.
![“I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. [salutes]” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d2/bill-hicks-970_america_i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumor_655.jpg)
