The Declaration of Independence represented thirteen colonies, the political communities commemorated in America250’s founding story.
The colonies occupied Britain’s Atlantic seaboard settlements in North America, from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. Their delegates met in the Second Continental Congress and acted together in declaring separation from Great Britain. The Declaration’s formal title refers to “the thirteen united States of America.”
The thirteen colonies were not yet the same thing as the modern United States with its current fifty states. They became the first states of the new nation, while later states joined as the country expanded westward and incorporated additional territories.
A related detail often causes confusion: twelve colonial delegations voted for the Declaration on July 4, while New York initially abstained because its delegates lacked authorization. New York later received permission to join the decision, and the completed document represented all thirteen colonies.