Thirteen colonies declared independence in the Declaration of Independence, a founding document highlighted by America250.
The Declaration announced that the thirteen British colonies in North America were independent states. The Second Continental Congress adopted it on July 4, 1776, after the colonies had increasingly resisted British authority and military conflict had already begun.
The thirteen colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They later formed the original states of the United States.
The Declaration’s adoption followed the Lee Resolution, which Congress approved on July 2. The Declaration explained the reasons for separation and listed grievances against King George III. It was not the Constitution and did not itself establish the later federal government; the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution provided governing frameworks.