Thirteen colonies were represented when America’s independence was declared in 1776.
The thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast joined in declaring independence through the Declaration of Independence. They became the original states of the United States, although their colonial boundaries and names were not identical to every modern state boundary.
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 participated in the Continental Congress, which approved the Declaration.
A common mix-up is counting only the colonies that sent delegates at a particular moment or treating the thirteen as the full geographic extent of modern America. The phrase “thirteen colonies” refers specifically to the British colonies that became the first United States states. America250 looks back to this original political union while commemorating the later nation’s continuing history.