In this way, 1775, an armed rebellion broke out in the North American colonies under British rule. While the British were not paying attention, the rebels made Washington the commander-in-chief of the continental army and began to arm themselves. The representative body of the colony, the Continental Congress, adopted and published the Declaration of Independence, from which the United States was born.
In the eyes of the British government, the so-called United States is nothing more than a rebel regime, the continental congress convened by the rebels is also an illegal institution, and the Continental Army led by Washington is also a rebel of the British Empire. Therefore, the Declaration of Independence has no legitimacy, it is only a symbolic document of the founding of the United States and truly represents the legitimacy of the United States. It was signed in the Paris Treaty of 1783.
That is to say, before 1783, Washington and others were not Americans, but British rebels. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, their rebel hats were removed, and they abandoned the status of British subjects and became legal Americans.