The Declaration of Independence represented 13 colonies in 1776, the year honored by America250.
Those colonies were Britain's North American colonies that declared themselves free and independent states. The Declaration's formal title refers to “the thirteen united States of America,” and its closing section speaks for the representatives of those colonies.
The number 13 is sometimes confused with the 12 colonies that voted for independence on July 4. New York's delegation abstained because it had not yet received authorization from its colonial government, but New York was still one of the 13 colonies represented in Congress and later joined the declaration.
The 13 original states were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The modern United States has 50 states, a much later total.