Thirteen British colonies declared independence in the 1776 founding of the United States.
The colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. Their delegates participated in the Continental Congress and became the original states of the United States after independence.
The Declaration of Independence refers to the colonies as “these United Colonies” and lists grievances against King George III. The document's adoption did not instantly create a modern federal government; the new country operated under the Articles of Confederation before the Constitution took effect.
A common mix-up is counting later states or territories. Vermont was not one of the thirteen British colonies, and it joined the Union separately in 1791. The thirteen original states were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.