The flag of the United States has 13 stripes, representing the thirteen colonies that won independence from Great Britain.
The Continental Congress approved the first official national flag design through the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777. That resolution called for thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. The stars represented a “new constellation,” while the stripes identified the united states formed from the former colonies.
The number of stripes remained fixed even as the number of stars changed. In 1795, Congress briefly approved a flag with 15 stripes after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union, but the Flag Act of 1818 restored the original thirteen-stripe arrangement and provided for adding one star for each new state.
Today’s flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes. The stars represent the current states, while the stripes preserve a visual link to the founding era commemorated by America250. The flag is also known by names including “Stars and Stripes” and “Old Glory.”