The United States flag is a symbol of our Nation. It has 13 horizontal stripes that stand for the 13 original colonies; seven are red, and six are white. In the upper left corner there are 50 white stars on a blue background; these stand for the 50 states in our United States.

The first U.S. flag was designed in 1777, but the flag has been changed many times since then. New stars were added each time new states joined the Union. The 50-star flag we use today dates from July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the 50th state.