On September 9, 1776, the Continental Congress formally declares the name of the new nation to be the “United States” of America. This replaced the term “United Colonies,” which had been in general use. A resolution by Richard Henry Lee, which had been presented to Congress on June 7 and approved on July 2, 1776, issued the resolve, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….” As a result, John Adams thought July 2 would be celebrated as “the most memorable epoch in the history of America.” Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted. That document also states, “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES.” However, Lee began with the line, while Jefferson saved it for the middle of his closing paragraph. In the Congressional declaration dated September 9, 1776, the delegates wrote, “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.” Find the history of the United States’ revolutionary period at the library.

Kimberly Willis Holt,  children’s author, was borin in Pensacola, FL on September 9, 1960.. She is best known for the novel When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, which won the 1999 U.S. National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. She was born to a US Navy chief in Pensacola, and . her experiences as a navy brat are reflected in her Piper Reed series.

On September 9, 1939, audiences at the Fox Theater in Riverside, California, get a surprise showing of Gone with the Wind, which the theater manager shows as a second feature. Producer David O. Selznick sat in the back and observed the audience reaction to his highly anticipated film. Gone with the Wind debuted in Atlanta on December 15, 1939, and became an instant hit, breaking all box office records. Find gone With the Wind at the Library. Script changes: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a hoot … a gosh darn …a donkey’s behind…