Thirteen colonies were represented in the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.
The document declared that the thirteen British colonies in North America were free and independent states. These colonies stretched along the Atlantic seaboard, from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south.
The Declaration's formal title referred to the “thirteen united States of America.” The colonies had developed separate governments and identities, but Continental Congress brought their representatives together to coordinate resistance and eventually declare independence.
The number thirteen is also reflected in later American symbols, including the original flag's thirteen stripes and the thirteen arrows on the Great Seal. The first states were not all identical in size, population, or political structure, but each was part of the revolutionary union proclaimed in 1776.