The U.S. flag has 13 stripes, representing the original 13 colonies.
The stripes alternate red and white, beginning and ending with red. The design recalls the colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and formed the first Union. The stars, by contrast, represent the states and have increased over time as the country expanded.
The Flag Resolution of 1777 established a flag with 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. It did not specify the exact arrangement of the stars. In 1795, Congress changed the flag to 15 stars and 15 stripes after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union.
The stripe count returned to 13 in 1818. Congress decided that new states would add stars, but the number of stripes would remain fixed at 13. That distinction explains why the current flag has 50 stars but only 13 stripes. The 13 stripes are linked to the revolutionary colonies, not to the current number of states.