The current flag of the United States has 13 stripes, representing the original Thirteen Colonies.
The stripes alternate red and white across the flag. The design recalls the colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and formed the early United States. A blue canton in the upper-left corner contains stars representing the states in the Union.
The flag’s symbols changed as the country expanded. The original 1777 design had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. Congress later added stars for new states, but it kept the number of stripes at thirteen so the flag would continue to represent the founding colonies.
People sometimes confuse the thirteen stripes with the current number of states. The United States now has 50 states, so the flag has 50 stars, not 50 stripes. The present 50-star arrangement began on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state.