There were 13 original colonies, and they became the first 13 states. In order of ratifying the US Constitution: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island.
Delaware ratified first on December 7, 1787, which is why it is nicknamed the First State. Rhode Island held out until May 29, 1790, more than a year after George Washington took office.
The 13 original colonies were British colonies along the Atlantic coast that declared independence in 1776 and, after the Revolutionary War, became the first 13 states of the United States. They are listed below in the order they ratified the US Constitution, which is the order they technically became states.
The 13 in order of statehood
| # | Colony / State | Ratified | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | Dec 7, 1787 | Dover |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | Dec 12, 1787 | Harrisburg |
| 3 | New Jersey | Dec 18, 1787 | Trenton |
| 4 | Georgia | Jan 2, 1788 | Atlanta |
| 5 | Connecticut | Jan 9, 1788 | Hartford |
| 6 | Massachusetts | Feb 6, 1788 | Boston |
| 7 | Maryland | Apr 28, 1788 | Annapolis |
| 8 | South Carolina | May 23, 1788 | Columbia |
| 9 | New Hampshire | Jun 21, 1788 | Concord |
| 10 | Virginia | Jun 25, 1788 | Richmond |
| 11 | New York | Jul 26, 1788 | Albany |
| 12 | North Carolina | Nov 21, 1789 | Raleigh |
| 13 | Rhode Island | May 29, 1790 | Providence |
Grouped by region
New England Colonies (4)
Settled mostly by English Puritans starting in the 1620s. Cold climate, rocky soil, small farms, big fishing and shipping economies. Highly religious early on, becoming centers of revolutionary thought by the 1770s.
- Massachusetts, Plymouth Colony (1620), Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630)
- Connecticut, settled 1633, claimed independence from Massachusetts Bay
- Rhode Island, founded 1636 by Roger Williams (exiled from Massachusetts for advocating religious tolerance)
- New Hampshire, chartered 1622, became royal colony 1679
Middle Colonies (4)
Religiously and ethnically diverse: Dutch, Swedish, German, Quaker, Welsh, English, French Huguenot. Mid-Atlantic ports made them the breadbasket and commercial heart of the colonies.
- New York, originally Dutch (New Netherland, 1624), taken by English 1664
- New Jersey, split from New York, separate colony 1665
- Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn as a Quaker refuge, 1681
- Delaware, originally Dutch and Swedish settlements, part of Pennsylvania until 1701
Southern Colonies (5)
Plantation-based economies (tobacco, rice, indigo, later cotton). Warmer climate, larger landholdings, and unfortunately the heaviest reliance on enslaved African labor among the 13.
- Virginia, Jamestown founded 1607, oldest English colony in North America
- Maryland, founded 1632 as a Catholic refuge
- North Carolina, split from Carolina province 1712
- South Carolina, split from Carolina province 1712
- Georgia, founded 1732 as a debtor refuge, last of the 13
Why these 13, why no others?
Britain had other North American colonies that did not join the rebellion: East Florida and West Florida (recently acquired from Spain, still loyal to Britain), Quebec / Nova Scotia / Newfoundland (Canadian, declined to join), and several Caribbean colonies (Jamaica, Bermuda, the Bahamas, too economically dependent on British protection to revolt).
The 13 that did join had several things in common: large enough English-speaking populations to organize political resistance, geographic proximity (the Continental Congress in Philadelphia was accessible to all 13), economies frustrated by British trade restrictions, and decades of de facto self-government via colonial assemblies that made centralized British control feel like a recent intrusion.
How to remember all 13
Group them in your head by region. New England has 4 (MA, CT, RI, NH, picture the top-right corner of the US). Middle Colonies have 4 (NY, NJ, PA, DE, the New York/Philadelphia corridor). Southern Colonies have 5 (VA, MD, NC, SC, GA, the Atlantic coast south of the Mid-Atlantic). Once you can list each region, the 13 fall out automatically.
Practice colonial history with the daily puzzle
"Original 13 colonies" is a frequent constraint in Statedoku. After a month you'll know all 13 by reflex.
Play today's puzzle →Which states were not among the 13 colonies?
Every state except the 13 above joined later, but a handful get guessed wrong often enough to be worth naming. Vermont and Maine trip people up most, because both sit in New England and feel like they should have been there from the start.
| Commonly guessed | Why it is not on the list |
|---|---|
| Vermont | Governed itself as the independent Vermont Republic from 1777 and joined as the 14th state in 1791. |
| Maine | Was part of Massachusetts until the Missouri Compromise made it a separate state in 1820. |
| Kentucky | Was Virginia's western county until it became the 15th state in 1792. |
| Tennessee | Was the Southwest Territory, admitted in 1796. |
| West Virginia | Did not exist until it split from Virginia during the Civil War in 1863. |
| Florida | Was Spanish territory throughout the colonial period and only became a state in 1845. |
| Ohio | Was part of the Northwest Territory, admitted in 1803. |
The simplest test: if a state touches the Atlantic between Maine and Georgia, it is probably one of the 13. The two exceptions to that shortcut are Vermont, which is landlocked and joined in 1791, and Maine, which was still Massachusetts territory at the time.