Flag of the United States, popularly called 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. Because of its stars, stripes, and colors, the American flag is frequently called the Star-Spangled Banner, the Stars and Stripes, or the Red, White, and Blue.

Betsy Ross managed her husbands upholstery business after his death in 1776, and became a maker of United States flags. According to legend, a committee headed by George Washington asked Ross to design and make the first American flag in The first American flag was made in 1776, after the 13 colonies declared independence from Britain. The flag had a star and a stripe for each colony. In 1777 it became the official flag of a new nation, the United States.

The National Anthem