The first star-spangled United States flag authorized in 1777 had 13 stripes.
The Continental Congress’s Flag Resolution called for thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars in a blue union. The number represented the thirteen states that had declared independence from Great Britain. This design connected the new national symbol directly to the political structure celebrated by America250.
The number of stars later changed as new states entered the Union, but the number of stripes was eventually fixed at thirteen. The Flag Act of 1818 restored the stripe count to thirteen after earlier designs had added stripes for new states. Since then, new states have generally been represented by additional stars rather than additional stripes.
The current United States flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes. The 13 stripes therefore commemorate the original states, while the stars represent the states in the Union today. This distinction explains why the modern flag does not have 50 stripes.