The 1777 Flag Resolution specified 13 stars for the original United States flag.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have thirteen white stars in a blue field and thirteen alternating red and white stripes. The stars represented the thirteen United States, while the stripes represented the original colonies.
The resolution did not specify how the stars should be arranged, how many points each star should have, or which stripe should be at the top. This allowed early flag makers to create different arrangements, including a circular pattern later associated with the Betsy Ross flag.
The current flag has 50 stars, one for each state, but it retains thirteen stripes. New stars were added as states entered the Union, while the number of stripes was fixed at thirteen by the Flag Act of 1818.