Thirteen colonies became the thirteen United States represented in the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250. The document announced that these colonies were free and independent states.
The thirteen colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Their delegates met in the Second Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration in 1776.
The number is sometimes confused with the twelve colonies that initially voted for independence on July 4. New York’s delegation abstained because it had not yet received authorization from its colonial convention; New York later joined the unanimous declaration.
The thirteen original states are also represented by the thirteen stripes on the United States flag. The fifty-star flag reflects the country’s present number of states, not the number of colonies that declared independence.