The [[Thirteen Colonies]] were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of [[North America]] during the [[1600-01-01 - 1799-12-31|17th and 18th centuries]]. Grievances against the imperial government led the thirteen colonies to begin uniting in [[1774-01-01 - 1774-12-31|1774]] and expelling British officials by [[1775-01-01 - 1775-12-31|1775]]. Assembled at the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], they appointed [[Washington, George|George Washington]] as commander-in-chief of the [[Continental Army]] to fight the [[American Revolutionary War]]. In [[Habsburg Dominions|1776]], [[Congress]] adopted the [[Declaration of Independence]] as the [[United States of America]]. Defeating invading British armies with French help, the [[Thirteen Colonies]] gained sovereignty with the [[Treaty of Paris]] in [[1783-01-01 - 1783-12-31|1783]].