The current United States flag has 13 stripes, representing the thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain. Those colonies are the historical foundation of the America250 commemoration.
The stripes alternate red and white, while the blue canton contains stars representing the states in the Union. The thirteen-stripe design dates to the Flag Resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, during the Revolutionary War.
The number of stripes has remained 13 even as the number of states grew. In 1795, the flag temporarily had 15 stripes after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union. Congress returned the design to 13 stripes in 1818 and established that new states would be represented by additional stars instead.
The current flag has 50 stars, not 50 stripes. The 50-star version became official on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii joined the United States. This difference is one of the most common facts people check when learning about the national flag.