The first official United States flag resolution specified thirteen stripes.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have thirteen alternating red and white stripes. It also called for thirteen white stars in a blue field. The stripes and stars represented the thirteen United States, the political successors of the colonies that had declared independence.
The 1777 resolution did not prescribe the exact arrangement of the stars. Early flags could therefore differ in their star patterns, including circular and linear arrangements. The familiar Betsy Ross flag, with stars in a circle, is an early design traditionally associated with the flag, although the story that Betsy Ross personally created the first flag is not firmly documented.
The flag changed as new states joined the Union. Congress added stars and stripes for new states in 1795, but the number of stripes returned to thirteen in 1818. Since then, the stripes have continued to represent the original thirteen states, while the stars represent the current states.