The 1777 Flag Resolution specified thirteen stars for the first official United States flag. The Continental Congress adopted the resolution on June 14, 1777, describing thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field.
The thirteen stars represented the thirteen states that had declared independence from Great Britain. The resolution described the stars as representing “a new constellation,” linking the new nation to a fresh political beginning.
The resolution did not prescribe a precise arrangement for the stars. Later designs placed them in different patterns, including a circle associated with the Betsy Ross tradition, but historians debate whether Ross actually made the first flag.
The number of stars changed as new states joined the Union. The current flag has fifty stars, while the thirteen stripes remain to represent the original states. June 14 is observed in the United States as Flag Day.