Thirteen colonies approved the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.
The thirteen colonies were British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America. Their delegates formed the Continental Congress, which coordinated resistance to British policies and eventually declared that the colonies were independent states.
The colonies were not identical: they had different economies, religious communities, political traditions, and settlement histories. Together, however, they supplied the political framework for the new United States. The phrase “thirteen colonies” refers to the group that became the original states, not to every British possession in North America.
The number is sometimes confused with the number of signers. Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the Declaration, while the political unit that declared independence consisted of thirteen colonies. America250 commemorates the national story that began with that collective action in 1776.