What do the 13 stripes represent?

The 13 stripes on the United States flag represent the 13 original colonies that declared independence from Britain in 1776 and became the first 13 states of the Union. Those colonies, listed in the order they ratified the Constitution between December 7, 1787 and May 29, 1790, were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The seven red stripes and six white stripes alternate, beginning and ending with red, and their number has stayed at 13 since the original Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777, which declared that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, with a union of 13 stars on a blue field representing a new constellation.

Briefly, between 1795 and 1818, the flag carried 15 stripes and 15 stars to reflect the admission of Vermont and Kentucky, and it was that 15-stripe flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment in September 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key. Recognizing that adding a stripe for every new state would soon make the flag impractical, Congress passed the Flag Act of April 4, 1818, which fixed the number of stripes permanently at 13 to honor the original colonies and provided that one star be added for each new state on the July 4 following its admission. The 1818 act, signed by President James Monroe, set the design template the country still follows.

The stripes therefore serve a specifically historical function: they freeze the founding moment in the design, while the stars in the canton track the growth of the country across the decades. Each stripe is one-thirteenth of the flag's hoist (vertical) measurement, and the dimensions are fixed in the proportions specified in Executive Order 10834, signed by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959 in connection with the upcoming admission of Hawaii.

The colors carry meaning that has become standard usage: red for hardiness and valor, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice, drawing on the Continental Congress's 1782 description of the Great Seal. The 13 stripes also link the flag visually to other founding-era documents and emblems, including the Great Seal of the United States, which features 13 stars above the eagle, 13 stripes on the shield, 13 arrows in one talon, and 13 olives and leaves on the branch in the other.