Thirteen colonies declared independence in 1776, forming the original United States celebrated by America250.
The colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. Their representatives gathered in the Second Continental Congress and approved independence during the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
The Declaration’s signers represented all thirteen colonies, although not every delegate signed on the same day. After independence, the colonies became states and operated under the Articles of Confederation before the Constitution established the federal system.
The number thirteen remains visible in American symbols, including the thirteen stripes on the national flag and the thirteen arrows held by the eagle on the Great Seal. The later addition of states changed the nation’s map, but the founding union began with these thirteen.