Uncle Sam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Uncle Sam (disambiguation).

Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. Common folklore holds that his origins come from the men of an army base in Troy, New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials U.S. The soldiers jokingly referred to it as the initials of the meat supplier, Uncle Samuel Wilson. The 87th United States Congress adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." A monument marks his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts. However, counter-arguments to this theory have been raised by some (for example, see Cecil Adams' article at The Straight Dope) so the precise origin of the term may never be proven.

Most earlier representative figures of the United States such as "Brother Jonathan" were overtaken by Uncle Sam somewhere around the time of the Civil War. The female personification "Columbia" has seldom been seen since the 1920s. Uncle Sam was first used in a political cartoon, drawn by the famous Thomas Nast. Today, with the possible exception of the Statue of Liberty, the character of Uncle Sam is probably the most easily recognizable personification of the U.S.

Symbolism

The term "Uncle Sam" can also be used as a synonym for the United States of America, especially the United States government. Phrases like "Uncle Sam needs ... " are often used by critics and satirists to create the image of the United States as a human being, with human wants and desires.

Uncle Sam is usually drawn as a tall, elderly man with a Stars and Stripes top hat, a red, white, and blue morning coat, and striped pants. This style was originally popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast and is now the universal image of the character. In recent years some cartoonists have drawn a more modernized and youthful version of Uncle Sam, although the distinctive top hat always remains.

The Uncle Sam character is often used in editorial cartoons as a physical representation of America. To American cartoonists he is largely considered an honorable figure, and is usually treated with respect, often representing the nation's conscience.

In some other countries, especially those which harbor some amount of Anti-American sentiment, Uncle Sam is often portrayed as a much less respectable figure, and is often used to personify American arrogance or imperialism.

I Want You...

During World War I a very famous recruitment poster depicted Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer with the words "I WANT YOU" appearing below. The artist James Montgomery Flagg, who painted the poster in 1917, used a modified version of his own face for Uncle Sam. Veteran Walter Botts posed for the drawing that became Uncle Sam.

The poster uses an artistic trick known since antiquity: if the pupils are drawn exactly centered in the eyes of a portrait, this gives an impression that the portrait "watches" back at the viewer wherever the viewer stands.

The poster was inspired by a similar World War I poster issued in the United Kingdom, picturing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose. Flagg's poster was revived and reprinted for recruitment during World War II.

The poster has been repeatedly imitated and parodied, with many different variations on the simple slogan. An imitation of note (and arguably of comparable fame) is a Red Army recruitment poster "Did You Volunteer?"