The current flag of the United States has 13 stripes, honoring the original thirteen colonies.
The stripes alternate red and white. They represent the thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and became the first states of the United States. The design preserves that number even though the country later expanded to fifty states.
The Continental Congress adopted the first official stars-and-stripes design on June 14, 1777. The resolution called for thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. Congress temporarily increased the flag to fifteen stripes in 1795 when Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union.
In 1818, Congress restored the number of stripes to thirteen and established the practice of adding a star for each new state. The flag now has 50 stars, reflecting the current states, but its 13 stripes continue to represent the original colonies.