The United States flag has thirteen stripes in honor of the original colonies.
The current flag displays thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white. They represent the thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 and became the original states.
The Flag Resolution of 1777 established thirteen stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. Later flag designs added stars as new states joined the Union, but Congress eventually reduced the number of stripes back to thirteen so the original colonies would continue to be represented.
The stripes should not be confused with the flag's stars. The fifty stars represent the current fifty states, while the stripes preserve the memory of the founding thirteen. This means the stripes have remained fixed even as the number of stars changed repeatedly.