We did not ask to be recognized as a single country. From the Declaration on we were a group of States. The very name the United States--not America--as the name says it all. English has a normal meaning. The term United States is not the same as the term France. It is not the same as the term United Kingdom (note the singular, although it really was based on a unity of several kingdoms). The term United States is always a plural.
You are engaged in a ridiculous word game, that starts without bothering to actually read the meaning of the words you use.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
You take one article from the Treaty of Paris, ignore the context, twist it into a meaning that suits your purpose and I'm the one playing ridiculous word games???