Thirteen colonies declared independence from Britain in the Declaration of Independence.
These colonies occupied Britain’s mainland possessions along the Atlantic coast of North America. Their delegates acted together through the Second Continental Congress, first voting for independence and then approving the Declaration in 1776. The thirteen colonies became the original states of the United States after the Revolution.
The colonies were not identical. They had different economies, religious traditions, settlement histories, and relationships with Indigenous nations and enslaved people. New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies also differed in geography and political culture. Their cooperation was therefore a major political achievement, even though disagreements continued.
The number thirteen is also reflected in later national symbols, including the thirteen stripes on the U.S. flag and the thirteen arrows held by the eagle on the Great Seal. The first flag resolution in 1777 described thirteen alternating red and white stripes, while stars represented the states. America250’s 250-year milestone looks back to this original group rather than to the fifty-state union that exists today.