The United States Are

The Maldives is. The Falklands are. The Netherlands is. The British Isles are. Geographical grammar is far from straightforward. While groups of physical features are plural, nations rate singular verbs. So why not a self-governing territory like the Falklands? Why plural or singular for the Azores, depending on your source? It’s a matter of emphasis and convention.

The U.S. Constitution treated the United States as plural: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies” (Article III, Section 3, italics mine). The Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 did the same: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The Civil War prompted growing treatment of the Union as grammatically singular, especially in the North. The Supreme Court retained the plural in most decisions until the turn of the century.

The nation still struggles with the perennial tenson between “United” and the plural “States.” The singular has won the grammatical contest. The practical contest between healthy pluralism and dysfunctional polarization is anybody’s guess. Many refuse to compromise. Some threaten to secede. Will we need to go back to saying, “the United States are”?

​Image: Henry Mosler (1841-1920), Betsy Ross sewing the first American flag. While possible, no credible evidence supports the legend that Ross had any role in designing the flag.