The American flag consists of 13 horizontal stripes, 7 red
alternating with 6 white. The upper corner near the staff is a
rectangular blue field that contains 50 five-pointed white stars.
The thirteen stripes symbolize the 13 original colonies of the
United States of America and the stars represent the 50 states of
the Union.
White is said to symbolize purity and innocence; Red, hardiness
and valor, and Blue, vigilance, perseverance and justice. The
American flag is commonly called the Stars and Stripes, the Red,
White and Blue, or the Star Spangled Banner.
In the year 1777 Congress decided that “The flag of the United
States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, with a
union of thirteen stars of white on a blue field.” As new states
joined the Union there had to be representation of them in the
flag. In 1795 Congress voted to increase the number of stars and
stripes to 15, but in 1818 legislation reestablished the number
of stripes at 13 and set up the policy, “That on the admission of
every new state into the Union, one star be added to the union of
the flag.”