Uncle Sam

J. M. Flagg's 1917 poster was based on the original British Lord Kitchener poster of three years earlier. It was used to recruit soldiers for both World War I and World War II into the US Army. Flagg used a modified version of his own face for Uncle Sam,[1] and veteran Walter Botts provided the pose.[2]

Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as United States) is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of the U.S. government in American culture and a manifestation of patriotic emotion.[3] Uncle Sam has also developed notoriety for his appearance in military propaganda, popularized by a famous 1917 World War I recruiting poster by J. M. Flagg.[4]

According to legend, the character came into use during the War of 1812 and may have been named for Samuel Wilson. The actual origin is obscure.[5] The first reference to Uncle Sam in formal literature (as distinct from newspapers) was in the 1816 allegorical book The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search After His Lost Honor.[6]

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

  1. ^ "The Most Famous Poster". American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016.
  2. ^ "Walter Botts, the Man Who Modeled Uncle Sam's Pose for J.M. Flagg's Famous Poster". Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Terry Allan Hicks (2006). Uncle Sam. Marshall Cavendish 2006, 40 pages. p. 9. ISBN 978-0761421375. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "What's the deal with Uncle Sam?". Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Schauffler, Robert Haven (1912). Flag day; its history. New York : Moffat, Yard and Co. p. 145.
  6. ^ pp. 40–41 of Albert Matthews, "Uncle Sam". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, v.19, 1908. pp. 21–65. Google Books Archived October 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

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