Thirteen colonies declared independence in the United States Declaration of Independence, the founding milestone commemorated by America250.
The thirteen colonies were British settlements along the Atlantic coast of North America. In 1776, their delegates acted together through the Second Continental Congress and announced that the colonies were no longer politically connected to Great Britain.
The colonies were not identical in size, economy, or social structure. New England included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire; the Middle Colonies included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; and the Southern Colonies included Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
The phrase “thirteen colonies” describes the group that declared independence, not every British colony in North America. British possessions such as Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Newfoundland did not join the American rebellion. The thirteen later became the original states of the United States, although their borders and governments changed over time.