UNCLE SAM
Name: Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States, with the first
usage of the term dating from the War of 1812 and the first illustration dating
from 1852. He is often depicted as a serious elderly man with white hair and a
goatee, with an obvious resemblance to President Andrew Jackson, and dressed in
clothing that recalls the design elements of the flag of the United States—for
example, typically a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a
blue band, and red and white striped trousers.
Common folklore holds origins trace back to soldiers stationed in upstate 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 troops' meat supplier,
Samuel Wilson of Troy, New York. 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." Monuments
mark his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts, and site of burial in Oakwood
Cemetery, Troy, New York. Another sign marks "The boyhood home of Uncle Sam"
outside his second home in Mason, NH. The first use of the term in literature is
seen in an 1816 allegorical book, The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After
His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., also in reference to the
aforementioned Samuel Wilson.
Earlier representative figures of the United States included such beings as "Brother
Jonathan," used by Punch magazine. These were overtaken by Uncle Sam somewhere
around the time of the Civil War. The female personification "Columbia" has
seldom been seen since the 1920s.
Name: Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States, with the first
usage of the term dating from the War of 1812 and the first illustration dating
from 1852. He is often depicted as a serious elderly man with white hair and a
goatee, with an obvious resemblance to President Andrew Jackson, and dressed in
clothing that recalls the design elements of the flag of the United States—for
example, typically a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a
blue band, and red and white striped trousers.
Common folklore holds origins trace back to soldiers stationed in upstate 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 troops' meat supplier,
Samuel Wilson of Troy, New York. 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." Monuments
mark his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts, and site of burial in Oakwood
Cemetery, Troy, New York. Another sign marks "The boyhood home of Uncle Sam"
outside his second home in Mason, NH. The first use of the term in literature is
seen in an 1816 allegorical book, The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After
His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., also in reference to the
aforementioned Samuel Wilson.
Earlier representative figures of the United States included such beings as "Brother
Jonathan," used by Punch magazine. These were overtaken by Uncle Sam somewhere
around the time of the Civil War. The female personification "Columbia" has
seldom been seen since the 1920s.