How many states now make up the origonal 13 colonies?

Um. Without looking it up.....so verify this..... 15.

Maine was part of Massachusetts until early in the 1800's
and West Virginia split off from Virginia during the Civil War era.

Joe

Grab an Atlas . . . !
Grab an Atlas: In 1783, the territories and claims of the Original Thirteen States included the entire present U.S. area east of the Mississippi River except Florida and the Gulf edges of Louisiana and Alabama.[/color]

Hmmm.. I'd say it's a few more than either of the previous guesses. Both MA and CT had undefined western borders and claimed that their colonies ran to the Pacific Ocean (others may have too..) so you'd have to include all of the states that are now along the northen half of the US.

The 13 colonies are: NH, MA, CT, RI, NY, DEL, PA, NJ, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA.

So, N and S carolina had already split, but W virginia hadn't. And the territory didn't go all the way to the Miss by the map I lokked at, it only seemed to go to the appalachains. Beyond that was Injin kuntry.

Looks like VT, ME, and WV are the unoriginal states within the original territory.

Here's a good map to show what's what: 13 colonies and more

1783 MAP OF U.S.
1783 map of the U.S. - when the United States was first recognized as a nation. See area in green for the original 13 colonies and their claims. If you want this URL, I have it bookmarked and can post it here.

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In fact, a crucial precusor to the constitutional convention was the surrender of all such claims to western lands as have been mentioned here.



None of those western claims had any meaning during the revolution. Of the territory actually occupied by the citizens of the thirteen colonies, there are now 16--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticutt, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. West Virginia is a little iffy, simply because the occupation of the Kanawah valley in 1775 was largely by trappers and hunters, although there may have been a handful of settlers. The problem would have been in establishing the fact--these people were in violation of royal regulation, which in 1763 denied all colonial claims west of the watershed of the Appalachian range, and forbade settlement in that area. The lands claimed by Connecticutt was the Wyoming valley in Pennsylvania, and this absurdity was quietly allowed to suffocate. Maryland objected to the Pennsylvania and Virginia claims while the United States was still governed by the Continental Congress, although the issue was not hashed out until after the end of the war in 1783. The key phrase in the question is ". . . colonies . . . first involved in the American Revolution . . . " The prohibition against settlement west of the watershed, along with the dispatch of troops to enforce the ban were the first salvos in the struggle of the 1760's which would eventually lead to the revolution.

Wow, Setanta! Someone's done their homework. That was interesting and educational, both. Thanks!

Vermont and Nova Scotia
I began this thread and I never dreamed that the answer could be so interesting. Finally, was Vermont considered to be one of the first 13? Was Nova Scotia a colony that just couldn't get all that interested in the Revolution?

Setanta -- What a watershed moment! :-)

Re: Vermont and Nova Scotia


In 1775, the area now occupied by the State of Vermont was known as "the Hampshire Grants," it did not become a state until after the United States was established.

Nova Scotia had been recently stolen from the French, and the inhabitants proving not to have been thoroughly charmed with the "regime change," they were run out of their ancestral homes, a great many being deported to Louisiana. The French had called this region in general, Accadie (Acadia to English-speakers). The inhabitants were known as Accadiens. A rough phonetic translation would be "ah-kad-jens." Hence, you now have "Cajuns" in Louisiana. Nova Scotia is the haven to which the English fled in March, 1776 when Washington took Dorchester Heights and made Boston too warm for them. Subsequently, American loyalists who were driven from their homes were put into what can be described as nothing better than refugee camps in Nova Scotia. They were later dispersed into what are now the Maritime provinces of Canada, where a great many starved and died--they weren't from the ranks of American pioneers, living on the frontier, and lacked the skills for that kind of existence. The majority were resettled in Upper Canada, modern Ontario, and if you drive through eastern Ontario today, around Kingston, you see all kinds of signs for "Loyalist country."

There's still a French newspaper in 'Acadie'
La Voix Acadienne

Re: Vermont and Nova Scotia


Didja read my post?