Thirteen original colonies are represented by the stripes on the U.S. flag.
The flag has 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes, symbolizing the colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and became the first states of the United States. This symbolism connects the flag directly to the founding era commemorated by America250.
The number of stars is different: the 50 stars represent the 50 current states. The flag has retained 13 stripes even as the nation expanded because adding a stripe for every new state would have made the design increasingly impractical.
Congress briefly increased the number of stripes to 15 in 1795 after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union. The Flag Act of 1818 restored the number to 13 and established the practice of adding stars for new states.