You’ve seen it a thousand times. It's flapping over a post office, pinned to a lapel, or maybe it's just a tiny sticker on a mailbox. But if you stop and actually count, how many stripes on a flag are you really looking at?
Thirteen.
It’s always thirteen now, but history is messy, and it wasn't always a settled deal. We think of the American flag as this static, unchanging thing, yet its design was once a chaotic back-and-forth between politicians and designers who couldn't agree on whether to keep adding lines every time a new state joined the party. If they hadn't come to their senses in 1818, the flag today would look like a barcode.
The Math of the Thirteen
The thirteen stripes represent the original colonies. You probably learned that in third grade. But the layout is specific: seven red and six white. They are arranged so that the red stripes are on the outer edges, top and bottom. This isn't just an aesthetic choice; it’s practical. Red is a much more durable color in the elements than white, and having red on the edges prevents the flag from looking "washed out" or frayed quite as quickly when viewed from a distance.
The colors themselves have meaning, though the Continental Congress was a bit vague about it at first. Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Continental Congress, eventually clarified that red stands for hardiness and valor, while white represents purity and innocence.
Why the British actually influence those stripes
It’s a bit of a historical irony, but the "Stars and Stripes" owes a massive debt to the British East India Company. Their flag also featured thirteen red and white stripes. When the Grand Union Flag—the first real precursor to the modern American flag—was raised in 1775, it had those same stripes but kept the British Union Jack in the corner. We wanted our own identity, but we were still basically using the English "template" while we figured things out.
The Time We Had Fifteen Stripes (And Almost More)
Here is where it gets weird. Most people assume the stripes stayed at thirteen while the stars increased. Nope.
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When Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union in the 1790s, Congress decided that the flag should reflect the growth of the nation in every way. They passed the Flag Act of 1794, which officially changed the design to fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. This is the flag that Francis Scott Key saw "gallantly streaming" over Fort McHenry. That's right—the Star-Spangled Banner, the actual physical flag that inspired the national anthem, has fifteen stripes.
Imagine if we had kept that up.
By the time five more states (Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi) were ready to be included, everyone realized they had a geometric nightmare on their hands. If you keep adding stripes, they have to get thinner and thinner to fit on the same sized cloth. From a distance, the flag would have started to look like a solid pink rectangle.
Captain Samuel C. Reid, a naval hero from the War of 1812, was the guy who basically saved the flag's design. He suggested to Congress that they should go back to the original thirteen stripes to honor the founding colonies and just add a new star for every new state. Congress agreed, and the Flag Act of 1818 set the rule in stone. It’s stayed that way ever since.
Visual Hierarchy and Dimensions
The ratio of a flag isn't just "whatever looks good." For the U.S. flag, there is a specific Executive Order (signed by President Eisenhower in 1959) that dictates the proportions.
The height of the flag is 1.0, and the width is 1.9.
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Each stripe is exactly 1/13th of the total height. If you’re making a flag that is 13 feet tall, each stripe is exactly one foot wide. This mathematical precision ensures that whether the flag is a tiny desk ornament or the massive "Super Flag" used at football games, the relationship between the stripes and the blue field (the union) remains identical.
The psychology of the pattern
There is a reason why stripes work so well for a national symbol. Horizontal lines suggest stability and groundedness. In vexillology—the study of flags—stripes are one of the most common motifs because they are easy to see from a long way off, even when the wind isn't blowing perfectly.
Common Misconceptions About the Stripes
I’ve heard people argue that the red stripes represent the blood spilled in the revolution. While that’s a powerful sentiment and has become part of the American "lore," it wasn't the original intent recorded by the founders.
Another big one: the "Civil War flag" myths. Some people think the stripes changed during the conflict between the North and South. They didn't. Abraham Lincoln refused to remove any stars or stripes from the flag, even though several states had "seceded." To him, the Union was legally unbroken, so the flag remained whole.
How to Check if Your Flag is "Correct"
If you’re buying a flag, especially one made overseas, you’d be surprised how often they get the count wrong.
- Count the red ones first. There should be seven.
- Check the top stripe. It must be red.
- Check the bottom stripe. It must also be red.
- The Blue Union. The blue section should rest on the fourth white stripe from the top. It covers exactly seven stripes in total (the first four red and first three white).
Actionable Steps for Proper Display
Knowing how many stripes are on a flag is the first step; showing them respect is the second. If you’re hanging a flag on a wall, whether horizontally or vertically, the blue field of stars (the union) should always be at the top and to the observer’s left.
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When the flag is hung vertically, the stripes shouldn't just be "turned." The union stays in the top left corner from the perspective of someone looking at it.
If you have an old flag where the stripes are fading or the edges are tattered, don't just throw it in the trash. Most American Legion posts or VFW chapters have drop-off boxes for flag retirement. They’ll burn them in a formal ceremony, which is the "official" way to dispose of a flag that has served its time.
Next time you see a flag, take five seconds. Count them. Seven red, six white. It’s a design that survived a century of bickering and nearly being redesigned into oblivion, but it works because it balances the original thirteen with the ever-growing number of stars.
Check your own flag at home. If the bottom stripe is white, you've got a manufacturing error or a very strange piece of folk art.
Next Steps for Flag Owners:
- Inspect for Fraying: Check the "fly end" (the part furthest from the pole). If the stripes are starting to unravel, it's time for a repair or a retirement.
- Verify Orientation: Ensure your flag is mounted so the union is in the upper-left corner when viewed from the street.
- Lighting: If you're flying the flag at night, make sure you have a dedicated light source hitting those thirteen stripes.