Thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the event commemorated by America250.
The thirteen were Britain’s mainland North American colonies that declared themselves independent and later formed the original United States. Their representatives met in the Second Continental Congress and approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776. The number thirteen became an enduring symbol in the U.S. flag’s original design and in other national imagery.
The colonies were not identical. They differed in geography, economies, religious traditions, and political institutions. New England colonies such as Massachusetts had different social and economic patterns from southern colonies such as Virginia and Georgia. Their agreement on independence was a major political achievement despite those differences.
The thirteen colonies should not be confused with all British territories in North America. Britain also controlled colonies and lands outside the group that became the United States. The phrase “thirteen colonies” specifically identifies the colonies that united in the Revolution and became the original states.