Fifty stars appear on the U.S. flag displayed for America250, representing the country’s current states.
The flag’s stars symbolize the states, while its thirteen stripes symbolize the original thirteen colonies. The current 50-star design became official on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii joined the Union as the fiftieth state in 1959.
The flag had 48 stars from 1912 until Alaska and Hawaii joined. Alaska’s admission in 1959 produced a 49-star flag for one year, followed by the 50-star design used today.
The number of stars is therefore different from the number of stripes. The stripes remain fixed at thirteen because they represent the founding colonies, while stars have changed as new states entered the Union. America250 celebrations use the modern flag, which combines symbols of both the original union and the present-day United States.