Thirteen colonies were represented in the Declaration of Independence, the document at the center of America250.
The thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast declared themselves independent states in 1776. They stretched from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. Their economies, populations, and political traditions differed, but the colonies cooperated through the Continental Congress during the escalating conflict with Britain.
The Declaration names the colonies in its closing section: New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These names reflect their colonial-era political designations, some of which differ from modern state names.
The thirteen colonies should not be confused with the later number of states. The United States grew to 50 states through several waves of admission after independence. America250 looks back to the original thirteen colonies because they were the political communities that joined in declaring independence in 1776.