The Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250 named thirteen colonies.
The thirteen colonies were British possessions along the Atlantic coast of North America that declared independence in 1776. They became the original states of the United States after the Revolutionary War and the creation of the new federal government.
The colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Their populations, economies, religious traditions, and political structures differed considerably, but they joined in resistance to British policies and taxation.
The number is often confused with the fifty states of the modern United States or with the original number of signers of the Declaration, which was 56. The Declaration itself was addressed to the people of the thirteen colonies and listed grievances against King George III.