Thirteen colonies declared independence in the Declaration of Independence honored by America250.
The colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast of British North America, from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. Their delegates met in the Second Continental Congress and approved independence in 1776.
The Declaration’s formal title referred to “the thirteen united States of America.” The colonies became states after breaking their political connection with the British Crown, although the war for independence continued until 1783.
The thirteen were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The number is sometimes confused with the number of colonies that voted on particular procedural steps. New York initially abstained from the July 2 independence vote because its delegates lacked instructions, but it later supported independence.