Flag of the United States

United States of America

Other names	The American flag, The Stars and Stripes The Red, White, and Blue Old Glory The Star-Spangled Banner United States (U.S.) flag
Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	10:19[1]
Adopted	December 3, 1775; 249 years ago (1775-12-03) (Continental Union Flag) June 14, 1777; 247 years ago (1777-06-14) (13-star version) July 4, 1960; 64 years ago (1960-07-04) (current 50-star version)
Design	Thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white; in the canton, one white star for each state (50 stars as of 1960) arranged in horizontal rows (of alternating numbers of six and five stars per row as of 1960) on a blue field

The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that won independence from Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.^[2]

The flag was created as an item of military equipment to identify US ships and forts. It evolved gradually during early American history, and was not designed by any one person. The flag exploded in popularity in 1861 as a symbol of opposition to the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. It came to symbolize the Union in the American Civil War; Union victory solidified its status as a national flag. Because of the country's emergence as a superpower in the 20th century, the flag is now among the most widely recognized symbols in the world.

Well-known nicknames for the flag include "the Stars and Stripes", "Old Glory", "the Star-Spangled Banner", and "the Red, White, and Blue". The Pledge of Allegiance and the holiday Flag Day are dedicated to it. The number of stars on the flag is increased as new states join the United States. The last adjustment was made in 1960, following the admission of Hawaii.