The Declaration of Independence represented thirteen colonies in 1776.
These colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Their delegates formed the political group that declared independence from Great Britain.
The phrase “thirteen colonies” refers to Britain’s mainland North American colonies that became the original states of the United States. The colonies had different economies, religions, settlement patterns, and relationships with Indigenous nations, but they joined in the revolutionary cause.
The number is sometimes confused with the twelve colonies that initially voted for independence on July 4. New York’s delegation abstained because it had not yet received authorization from its provincial government. New York later supported the Declaration, making the colonial representation unanimous.