These is not just plural; it means these as opposed to those. I'm just wondering what those are. Or, more seriously, just needling a usage which implies something the speaker didn't intend.
I also question your theory, insofar as the fundamental shift from the United States as plural to singular dates from the Civil War, and indeed that war was what established that the U.S. was an entity in itself and not just a collection of state. I rather doubt that the old people you cite are quite as old as that.
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Date: 2020-08-19 01:57 pm (UTC)I also question your theory, insofar as the fundamental shift from the United States as plural to singular dates from the Civil War, and indeed that war was what established that the U.S. was an entity in itself and not just a collection of state. I rather doubt that the old people you cite are quite as old as that.