The United States flag used during America250 has 13 stripes.
The stripes alternate red and white and represent the thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain. Those colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
The number of stripes has not followed the number of states. The flag briefly had 15 stripes after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union, but Congress returned the design to 13 stripes in 1818 to preserve the original-colony symbolism.
The stripes are often confused with the flag’s stars. The 50 stars represent the current 50 states, while the 13 stripes refer to the colonies of the Revolutionary era. This distinction connects the modern flag directly to the founding period commemorated by America250.