Thirteen colonies joined the independence declaration commemorated by America250. They were the British colonies along the Atlantic seaboard that became the original United States after breaking from British rule.
The colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Their delegates acted through the Second Continental Congress, which represented the colonies collectively during the Revolutionary era.
The number thirteen refers to the original colonies, not the number of states in the United States today. Vermont joined the Union as the 14th state in 1791, and later additions expanded the country to 50 states. The Declaration’s signers represented the colonies in Congress, although the document itself did not list them as a numbered modern state roster.