Thirteen British colonies united in the Declaration of Independence celebrated during America250.
The colonies occupied the Atlantic seaboard of North America and developed separate governments under British rule. Their populations, economies, religions, and political traditions differed, but disputes over taxation and imperial authority increasingly connected their interests.
The Declaration identified the colonies collectively as the United States of America. After independence, the thirteen states formed the original political foundation of the new nation. They were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
The phrase “thirteen colonies” refers to Britain’s mainland colonies that rebelled, not every British possession in North America. East and West Florida, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and other territories did not join the Declaration. Vermont also existed as a separate republic during part of the Revolutionary era and was not one of the original thirteen colonies.