Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

'') is a common

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of the United States, depicting the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in

American culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

and a manifestation of

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

emotion. Uncle Sam has also developed notoriety for his appearance in military

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

, popularized by a 1917

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

recruiting poster by

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist, and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his ...

. According to legend, the character came into use during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and may have been named after Samuel Wilson. The actual origin is obscure. The first reference to Uncle Sam in formal literature (as distinct from newspapers) was in the 1816

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

book '' The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search After His Lost Honor''.pp. 40–41 of Albert Matthews, "Uncle Sam". ''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society'', v.19, 1908. pp. 21–65
Google Books
While the figure of Uncle Sam specifically represents the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, the female figure of Columbia represents the United States as a nation. An archaic character, Brother Jonathan, was known to represent the American populace.

Earlier personifications

The earliest known personification of the United States was as a woman named Columbia, who first appeared in 1738 ( pre-US) and sometimes was associated with another female personification, Lady Liberty. With the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

of 1775 came Brother Jonathan, a male personification. Brother Jonathan saw full literary development into the personification of American national character through the 1825 novel '' Brother Jonathan'' by

John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...

. Uncle Sam finally appeared after the

. Columbia appeared with either Brother Jonathan or Uncle Sam, but her use declined as a national person in favor of Liberty, and she was effectively abandoned once she became the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

in the 1920s. A March 24, 1810, journal entry by Isaac Mayo (a midshipman in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

) states:

weighed anchor stood down the harbor, passed Sandy Hook, where there are two light-houses, and put to sea, first and the second day out most deadly stomach ache, oh could I have got onshore in the hight 'sic''of it, I swear that uncle Sam, as they call him, would certainly forever have lost the services of at least one sailor.

Evolution

An 1810 edition of '' Niles' Weekly Register'' has a footnote defining Uncle Sam as "a cant term in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

for the

." Presumably, it came from the abbreviation of the United States of America: U.S.

Samuel Wilson legend

The precise origin of the Uncle Sam character is unclear, but a popular legend is that the name "Uncle Sam" was derived from Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker from

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, who supplied rations for American soldiers during the War of 1812. There was a requirement at the time for contractors to stamp their name and where the rations came from onto the food they were sending. Wilson's packages were labeled "E.A.—U.S." When someone asked what that stood for, a co-worker jokingly said, "Elbert Anderson he contractorand Uncle Sam," referring to Wilson, though the ''U.S.'' actually stood for "United States". Doubts have been raised as to the authenticity of this story, as the claim did not appear in print until 1842. Additionally, the earliest known mention definitely referring to the metaphorical Uncle Sam is from 1810, predating Wilson's contract with the government.

Development of the character

In 1835, Brother Jonathan made a reference to Uncle Sam, implying that they symbolized different things: Brother Jonathan was the country itself, while Uncle Sam was the government and its power. A

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...

in an 1849 comedic novel explains "we call...the American public Uncle Sam, as you call the British

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

." By the 1850s, the names Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were being used nearly interchangeably, to the point that images of what had previously been called "Brother Jonathan" were being called "Uncle Sam". Similarly, the appearance of both personifications varied wildly. For example, one depiction of Uncle Sam in 1860 showed him looking like

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, while a contemporaneous depiction of Brother Jonathan looks more like the modern version of Uncle Sam, though without a

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on the chin entirely. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer solely to a bear ...

An 1893 article in ''

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'' claims Uncle Sam was simply another name for Brother Jonathan:

When we meet him in politics we call him Uncle Sam; when we meet him in society we call him Brother Jonathan. Here of late Uncle Sam ''alias'' Brother Jonathan has been doing a powerful lot of complaining, hardly doing anything else.

Uncle Sam did not get a standard appearance, even with the effective abandonment of Brother Jonathan near the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, until the well-known recruitment image of Uncle Sam was first created by

during

. The image was inspired by a British recruitment

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

showing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose. It is this image more than any other that has influenced the modern appearance of Uncle Sam: an elderly white man with white hair and a

, wearing a white

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

with white stars on a blue band, a blue tail coat, and red-and-white-striped trousers. Uncle Sam needs that extra shovelful

Flagg's depiction of Uncle Sam was shown publicly for the first time, according to some, on the cover of the magazine '' Leslie's Weekly'' on July 6, 1916, with the caption "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" More than four million copies of this image were printed between 1917 and 1918. Flagg's image was also used extensively during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during which the US was codenamed "Samland" by the German intelligence agency

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

. The term was central in the song " The Yankee Doodle Boy", which was featured in 1942 in the musical ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical drama film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, Geo ...

''. There are two memorials to Uncle Sam, both of which commemorate the life of Samuel Wilson: the Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

, his birthplace; and a memorial near his long-term residence in Riverfront Park,

. Wilson's boyhood home can still be visited in Mason, New Hampshire. Samuel Wilson died on July 31, 1854, aged 87, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York. In 1976, Uncle Sam was depicted in " Our Nation's 200th Birthday, The Telephone's 100th Birthday" by Stanley Meltzoff for

Bell System The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the AT&T Corporation, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America fo ...

. In 1989, "Uncle Sam Day" became official. A Congressional joint resolution designated September 13, 1989, as "Uncle Sam Day", the birthday of Samuel Wilson. In 2015, the family history company

MyHeritage MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform with web, mobile, and Genealogy software, software products and services, introduced by the Israeli company MyHeritage in 2003. Users of the platform can obtain their family trees, upload and browse thro ...

researched Uncle Sam's family tree and claims to have tracked down his living relatives.

References

External links

*

* ttp://www.sonofthesouth.net/uncle-sam/uncle-sam-pictures.htm Historical Uncle Sam pictures*
What's the origin of Uncle Sam?
The Straight Dope
Uncle Sam online
links to 550 books {{Authority control Culture of the United States Fictional American people Legendary American people National symbols of the United States National personifications Holiday characters Fictional characters introduced in the 19th century category:Tall tales category:American mascots category:Fictional characters based on real people category:American folklore category:American legends