May Revolution in the context of Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros

The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Spanish: Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America (Spanish: Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the Sovereign Congress taking place in 1813, during the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818) that began with the May Revolution in May of 1810. It originally comprised rebellious territories of the former Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata dependencies and had Buenos Aires as its capital.

The name Provincias del Río de la Plata (formally adopted during the Cortes of Cádiz to designate the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata) alludes to the Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata or Primera Junta. It is best known in Argentinean literature as Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata ('United Provinces of the River Plate' i.e. 'river of silver'), this being the most common name (since 1811) in use for the country until the enactment of the 1826 Constitution. The Argentine National Anthem refers to the state as "the United Provinces of the South". The Constitution of Argentina recognises Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata as one of the official names of the country, referred to as "Argentine Nation" (Nación Argentina) in modern legislation.

The Argentine Army (Spanish: Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. Command authority is exercised through the Minister of Defense.

The Army's official foundation date is May 29, 1810 (celebrated in Argentina as the Army Day), four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown. The new national army was formed out of several pre-existing colonial militia units and locally manned regiments; most notably the Infantry Regiment "Patricios", which to this date is still an active unit.

The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what would eventually become Argentina. It was formed on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially only had representatives from Buenos Aires. When it was expanded, as expected, with the addition of representatives from the other cities of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, it became popularly known instead as the Junta Grande (Grand Junta) or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires. The Junta operated at El Fuerte (the fort, where the modern Casa Rosada stands), which had been used since 1776 as a residence by the viceroys.

The Argentine National Anthem (Himno Nacional Argentino) was adopted as the sole official song of Argentina on 11 May 1813—three years after the May Revolution. Its lyrics were written by the Buenos Aires-born politician Vicente López y Planes and the music was composed by the Spanish musician Blas Parera.

Some first, quite different, anthems were composed from 1810; a version was then introduced in 1813, which was used throughout the 19th century. What is now officially codified as the state's national anthem is shorter than the original composition and comprises only the first and last verses and the chorus of the 1813 "Patriotic March", omitting much emotional text about the struggle for independence from Spain ("with strong arms they tear to pieces the arrogant Iberian lion").

The Mariano Moreno National Library (Spanish: Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno) is the largest library in Argentina. It is located in the barrio of Recoleta in Buenos Aires. The library is named after Mariano Moreno, one of the ideologists of the May Revolution and its first director.

The National Library is an agency under the Ministry of Culture of Argentina.

There are various allegorical representations of Argentina or associated in any way with Argentina. There is not, however, a national personification with its own name, like Marianne from France, or Hispania from Spain, but sculptures and engravings representing liberty, republic, motherland or other concepts that have been used officially by the Argentine state. The allegory is represented in most cases by a young woman called the Liberty of Oudiné, dressed in a kind of tunic, with a light skin and flowing brown or black wavy hair. She usually wears a red Phrygian cap, an emblem of liberty. When the allegory of Argentina is depicted, her tunic and overtunic almost always bear the colors of the Argentine flag.

The Federal League (Spanish: Liga Federal), also known as the League of the Free Peoples (Liga de los Pueblos Libres), was a short lived confederation of provinces located in South America. From 1815 to 1820 it tried to establish a confederal organization for the State that was emerging from the May Revolution in the war of independence against the Spanish Empire in part of what is now Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Founded and led by José Gervasio Artigas, it proclaimed independence from the Spanish Crown in 1815 and sent provincial delegates to the Congress of Tucumán with instructions regarding the nonnegotiable objective of declaring full independence for the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and establishing a confederation of provinces, all of them on equal footing and the government of each being directly accountable to its peoples by direct democratic means of government. The delegates from these provinces were rejected on formalities from the Congress that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816.