Uncle sam born

National personification of the United States

This article is about the national personification of the United States federal government. For its comic book adaptation, see Uncle Sam (comics). For other uses, see Uncle Sam (disambiguation).

Uncle Sam (with the same initials as United States) is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government 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 and a manifestation of patriotic emotion. Uncle Sam has also developed notoriety for his appearance in military propaganda, popularized by a 1917 World War I recruiting poster by James Montgomery Flagg.

According to legend, the character came into use during the War of 1812 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 book The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search After His Lost Honor.

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.

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 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.

Uncle Sam finally appeared after the War of 1812.Columbia appeared with either Brother Jonathan or Uncle Sam, but he

Scottish meat packer, purported source of the figure "Uncle Sam" (1766–1854)

For other people named Samuel Wilson, see Samuel Wilson (disambiguation).

Samuel Wilson (September 13, 1766 – July 31, 1854) was an American meat packer who lived in Troy, New York, whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam".

Biography

Wilson was born in the historic town of Arlington, Massachusetts, (known as Menotomy at the time, township of West Cambridge), to parents Edward and Lucy Wilson. Wilson is a descendant of one of the oldest families of Boston; through direct heritance of his grandfather Robert Wilson, originally from Greenock, Scotland, he was Scottish with a Massachusetts background. As a boy, he moved with his family to Mason, New Hampshire.

Continental Army

While living in Mason at the young age of fourteen, Wilson joined the Continental Army on March 2, 1781. His duties while enlisted consisted of guarding and caring for cattle, and mending fences, as well as slaughtering and packaging meat; guarding meat was a priority during the war. It was not uncommon for enemies to tamper with and poison food sources. Wilson's service to the Army most likely came to an end around October 19, 1781, with the surrender of Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown.

Move to New York

In 1789, at the age of 22, Samuel and his older brother Ebeneezer, age 27, relocated, by foot, to Troy, New York. The Wilson brothers were amongst the first pioneer settlers of the community, and Troy was attractive to earlier settlers for its proximity to the Hudson River. Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer partnered together and built several successful businesses. Both were employees of the city as well as successful entrepreneurs.

After his relocation to Troy, Samuel drew upon his prosperous location. He purchased property on Mount Ida (now Prospect Park),

Happy Independence Day! This week, we celebrate American history in honor of July 4th; the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. July 4th, or Independence Day, is celebrated throughout the United States as the day when freedom from Great Britain was finally won. With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the original 13 colonies became the first 13 states of the newly formed United States of America. This day is honored throughout America with fireworks, cook outs, and lots of red, white and blue. 

For this Independence Day, we are celebrating history and detailing the story behind the iconic Uncle Sam! Read through this week’s blog to learn about how this famous personification came to life, and how its imagery shaped the country we know and love.

"I Want You for the U.S. Army" Vintage WWII Poster by James Montgomery Flagg, 1941

$4,500.00

In September of 1813, the United States was given the nickname Uncle Sam. The character Uncle Sam was meant to personify America, focused on the patriotism and freedom that the country embodies. The name and persona of Uncle Sam is linked to real-life Samuel Wilson; an American meatpacker from Troy, New York who supplied barrels of meat to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. Wilson was quite well known in Troy, and local residents reportedly called him "Uncle Sam." Wilson supposedly stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for the United States. “When the local people and Army soldiers saw the food barrels marked "U.S.," they assumed that the letters meant Uncle Sam. Wilson had labeled the barrels "U.S." for "United States," and so the two ideas merged—Uncle Sam became a symbol for the United States of America” (Elder).

“The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government” (History.com editors).

The image of Uncle Sam was inspired by Samuel Wilson, but adapted by Thomas

Each region of the nation has its own distinctive history and identity. The New York’s Capital Region—consisting of Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga Counties—is no different. But what best identifies the region? What events, objects, people, and ideas have contributed to its character and uniqueness?

To learn the answers, we presented these questions to the numerous museums, historical organizations, libraries, and residents of the Capital Region. The fifty objects that were ultimately selected present an exciting history of the Capital Region, including well-known favorites but also unexpected surprises. Some of the fifty objects characterize very broad topics like the textile industry and the Hudson River School of art, while others embody large populations of people who shaped the character of the region, such as the Dutch and the Iroquois. Many objects represent specific people or events, such as writer William Kennedy and the Battle of Saratoga. In some instances, the objects represent themselves, like the GE Monitor Top refrigerator and Albany’s beloved Nipper statue. A complementary image accompanies each of the fifty objects, providing context and additional information.

Overall, the fifty objects clearly demonstrate that this narrowly circumscribed part of New York State has played an astonishing role in shaping the history of the nation and, in several instances, the world beyond the confines of our national borders.