The United States flag has 13 stripes, whose symbolism is highlighted during America's 250th anniversary.
The stripes alternate red and white and represent the thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and formed the United States. The design connects the modern national flag with the country's revolutionary origins.
The Continental Congress adopted the first official stars-and-stripes design through the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777. That resolution specified thirteen stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. The arrangement and appearance of the stars varied in early handmade flags.
The flag now has 50 stars for the 50 states but retains 13 stripes. Congress briefly increased the number of stripes to 15 after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union in 1791 and 1792; the stripe count returned to 13 in 1818.