Thirteen original states formed the United States declared independent in 1776.
The Declaration of Independence described the thirteen British colonies as free and independent states. They stretched along the Atlantic seaboard from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. Their colonial institutions, economies, and political traditions differed considerably, but they joined in the Revolutionary struggle.
The thirteen were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The number became a lasting national symbol, appearing in the early flag’s stripes and stars.
A common mix-up is counting later admissions to the Union as part of the original group. Vermont joined in 1791, followed by Kentucky and Tennessee in the 1790s. The thirteen original states are therefore not the same as the number of states in the modern United States, but they are central to the founding story remembered in America250.