The U.S. flag has 13 stripes, representing the original thirteen colonies.
The stripes alternate between red and white. Their number has remained 13 even as the number of states represented by stars increased from the original thirteen to today’s 50. The design therefore preserves a visual link to the colonies that declared independence from Great Britain.
The Continental Congress adopted the first official national flag design through the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777. That resolution specified 13 alternating red-and-white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. The stars represented a “new constellation,” symbolizing the new union.
The flag’s current design has 50 stars, one for each state. Hawaii’s admission in 1959 brought the count to 50, and the 50-star flag officially began on July 4, 1960. Flag Day is observed annually on June 14, commemorating the 1777 resolution.