Question 96
Symbols & Holidays
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

The United States flag has 13 stripes because there were 13 original colonies. Today, the United States is an independent country. Before that, it was 13 separate colonies. Great Britain governed the 13 colonies. The 13 colonies worked together to fight the British. They won the War of Independence in 1783. The colonies became an independent country, called the United States of America. The 13 original colonies became the first states. The flag has 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies.

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Section "Learn and Explore" uses official instructions and media files of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian Institution and other governmental and public organization.