What do the stripes stand for on the American flag?
the American flag, the official national flag of the United States. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes, 7 red alternating with 6 white, and in the upper corner near the staff, a rectangular blue field, or canton, containing 50 five-pointed white stars. The stripes symbolize the 13 colonies that originally constituted the United States of America. The stars represent the 50 states of the Union.