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Home Arts & Humanities History How old is america today
Arts & Humanities

How old is america today

232? I'm sure someone already asked this...
6 Comments


Angel Aries
Votes: +0

Yes. give that girl a cigar.

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Christine S
Votes: +0

Declaration of Independence is 232 years and 1 day old today (the Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 3, 1776 - NOT July 4). The United States is 225 years old in September as knight1192a says above.



However, "America" is 501 years 2 months and 9 days old. America was named on April 25, 1507, when it first appeared in print in "Cosmographiae Introductio" by Martin Waldseemuller, a noted geographer, and Mathias Ringmann, a schoolmaster. See below from http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica...



"It is an irony of history that the name "America" did not come from Christopher Columbus. That distinction belongs to a German writer of geography.



In a further twist of events, America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a 15th century Florentine merchant who owned a business in Seville, Spain, furnishing supplies for ships, preparing them for mercantile expeditions.



How do we explain what seems to mock the reality of history?



Stirred by the achievements of Columbus and envious of the reputation his discoveries brought, Vespucci endeavored to cultivate Columbus' friendship and trust.



Seven years after Columbus' first voyage and while Columbus was still alive, Vespucci accompanied an expedition that consisted of four ships. They sailed past the eastern coast of South America, and visited Trinidad, which Columbus had named the preceding year. On his return to Europe Vespucci wrote letters with glowing descriptions of the newly discovered countries. He called the lands he had visited a "New World."



Some years later Vespucci's letters were published and read by Martin Waldseemuller, a noted geographer, and Mathias Ringmann, a schoolmaster. Recently arrived from Germany to the province of Lorraine, they were attracted to the town of Saint-Die because of a newly established print shop. Both men were engaged in working on a reproduction of Ptolemy's treatise on geography, to which they were adding a preface.



After reading the account of Vespucci's travels in "Quatre Navigations d' Americ Vespuce," they decided to incorporate Vespucci's voyage into the treatise. Ringmann, acting as editor, wrote in his introduction:



"There is a fourth quarter of the world which Amerigo Vespucci has discovered and which for this reason we can call 'America' or the land of Americo."



Apparently ignorant of the discoveries and achievements made by Columbus fifteen years earlier, Ringmann continued:



"We do not see why the name of the man of genius, Amerigo, who has discovered them, should not be given to these lands, as Europe and Asia have adopted the names of women."



Their work was published on April 25, 1507 under the title "Cosmographiae Introductio." It marked the first time the word AMERICA appeared in print."

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knight11...
Votes: +0

1976 was the 200th anniversary of the Declaration. That was 32 years ago. HOWEVER, the Declaration only proclaimed the colonies to be free of English rule, it still took a number of years fighting for that to become a reality. Fighting didn't end until the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. And the Treaty of Paris, which offically ended our War for Independence in our favor, wasn't signed until September 3, 1783. 1983 marked the 200th anniversary of the US actually gaining it's independence. That was 25 years ago. So the countries age will actually be 225 this Septemer 3 as there was still a chance after the Declaration of Independnce was signed (which by the way though it was ratified on July 4, 1776 only Hancock, the president of the Contenential Congress, and Charles Thomson, the Congress's secratary, signed it that day, the most of the rest of the Congress didn't signing it until August 2, 1776) that Britian could have won the war and we'd have remained British colonies. Today is merely the birthday of the Declaration and our declaring our independence, not the actual birthday of the country.

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bigmac
Votes: +0

Give that lady 10 silver dollars!!!



232 is the correct answer!!!



God Bless America !!!!

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Jack J
Votes: +0

232 years old!

Happy 4th of July

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dee a
Votes: +0

Yes, 232 years old!

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