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How Uncle Sam Became
An Emblem of the Nation’
That astute fellow decked
eut in top hat, striped pants
end ehin whiskers, whom we
fondly call Uncle Sam, is a
legendary character with ori-
gins that were considered
laughable by early-day Amer-
icans who aporeciated a good
joke.
A lesser personage might
not have survived such odds,
but Sam overcame his mirth-
ful beginnings and has come
on to enjoy world-wide notor-
iety.
How the nickname ‘Uncle
Sam’ came about is one of
bose quirks of history that
prove truth really can be
stranger than fiction.
The story begins
the early 1800's when
young nation found itself
embroiled in another war
with Great Britain—the War
of 1812—not many years af-
ter the Revolution had sever-
ed ties with the mother coun-
try.
A certain.meat packer and
dealer named Samuel Wilson
had built up a thriving busi-
ness in the town. of Troy,
near Albany in eastern New
York-State. Troy_was an im-
portant trading center those
days for the country’s expan-
sion to the north and west, as
well as for the . Army. :
Sam Wilson, whe was the
butt of the joke in question,
was a stalwart citizen of the
Troy community, weM-known
for his ‘honesty, common
sense” and - jovial disposition.
And, of course, he was -affect-
ionately>ecalled ‘Uncle Sam”
by ‘his many- friends and ac-
quaintances:”
By 18%¥2 “when the war
stated, Sam wilson had be-
back in
the
come prominent in state af-
fairs and thus wads a natural
choice for serving os _inspeet-
or of provisions~for- the U.S.
Army in the area, TAnd.it was
natural, too, perhaps that as
a leading mest packer he was
“to symbolize
called upon to supply meat
to the Army quartermaster,
Soon after the fighting be-
gan, a group of government
officials visited the Wilson
plant in Troy. One of the
group casually asked a work-
man what the “U.S.” stamped
on the meat barrels stood for.
Actually. it referred to the
U.S. government. But the
workman jokingly replied
that the U.S. stamp represen-
ted his boss, Uncle Sam Wil-
son. Thus was born the nick-
name of the United States.
Following the incident,
“Uncle Sam’ became a stand-
ard joke around the area and
in the Army. The term
spread among soldiers of that
day much as “GI” (govern-
ment issue) took over during
World War II. Before long
all government property was
being referred to as Uncle
Sam’s.
Newspapers and magazines
at home "and abroad picked
up the name, too, and in a mat-
ter of years Uncle Sam came
the national
character and the government
itself,
Cartoonists were especially
instrumental in fixing the
name and the image. Histor-
ians credit the popular Brit-
ish magazine Punch and its
cartoons showing a lean,
whiskered gentleman wearing
a top hat and striped trousers
with having set the stage for
development of the modern
Uncle Sam concept.
By the turn of the century,
through the efforts of such
noted American cartoonist as
Thomas Nast, Joserh Kep-
pler, and others. Uncle Sam
had become firmly entrench-
ed in people's minds as the
symbol of the republic.
One of the most imagina-
tive and lasting treatments
of the symbol is James Mont-
gomery Flagg’s Army recruit-
ing poster showing the impos-
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ing figure of Uncle Sam poin-
ting his finger and saying: “I
want you . . . ” Flagg’s post-
er, credited with bringing in
countless recruits and other-
wise fanning the flame of pa-
triotism, was used extensive-
ly in both world wars.
As alert readers may sense,
Uncle Sam has changed with
the times as cartoonists have
PAGE 2
adapted his image to suit cur-
rent issues and their timely
conception of what the na-
tion's image should be:at any
particular point in history
But his likeness remains un-
mistakable and his usefulness
unchallenged.
As for Uncle Sam Wilson,
who took it all as good-natur-
ed jest, he continued to pros-
per in meat and other busi-
ness lines and enjoyed - the
limelight as one of Troy's
leading citizens. - Historians
find no evidenee that he ever
took advantage of his privil-
ege status as the patron
saint of the republic in his
business and social affairs, It .
‘progenitor
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1971
was a good joke,
Sam Wilsen- passed on July
31, 1854, ‘at the age of 88. Hit
grave site in Troy is marked
by a four-ton granite monu.
ment inscribed: “In loving
memory of Uncle Sam, the
name originating with ‘Sam.
«uel ‘Wilson (1766-1854) during
the War 1812‘ and since adop-
ted by the United States?”
In 1961 the U.. S. Congress
adopted a. resplution saluting
Uncle Sam. Wilson as “the
-of «America's na-
tional symbol.”
By Lloyd J. Linford
Christian Science Monitor
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