Today in History: The Origin of the Nickname "Uncle Sam" for US Page all

KOMPAS.com – Today 207 years ago, September 7, 1813 to be precise, United States of America earned his famous nickname, Uncle Sam (US) or Paman Sam.

The nickname is usually associated with cartoon characters with long white hair, a beard and wearing a coat, vest, high hat, and striped trousers.

Launch Britannica, the origin of the nickname Uncle Sam or Uncle Sam, though disputed, is usually attributed to a butcher from Troy, New York, Samuel Wilson.

Wilson was known as “Uncle Sam” Wilson.

He marked meat delivery boxes with the stamp “US” which stands for United States.

However, the soldiers actually interpreted the abbreviation as Uncle Sam’s.

Noticing this unique misconception, the local newspaper ran the story immediately, and eventually Uncle Sam’s nickname became widespread and was accepted as a nickname for the US federal government.

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There are many versions about the origin

Launch HistoryThe story of Sam Wilson’s quirky and misunderstanding of US soldiers was first popularized in an article in the New York Gazette in 1830.

In 1961, the US Congress passed a resolution recognizing Wilson as “the progenitor of America’s national symbol ‘Uncle Sam'” “.

However, many modern researchers doubt the veracity of the story.

Historian Donald R. Hickey has found references to Uncle Sam in the diaries of US Navy soldiers from 1810, which indicate that the term predates the War of 1812.

Meanwhile, in 1813, Wilson’s hometown newspaper wrote an article referring to Uncle Sam’s term, but did not cite Wilson’s role as the inspiration for the nickname.

Instead, the story states that Uncle Sam’s name is just a joke about the US being plastered on military carriages and equipment.

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Become cartoons and posters

photo" data-photolink="http://www.kompas.com/tren/image/2020/09/07/073500865/hari-ini-dalam-sejarah--asal-mula-julukan-uncle-sam-untuk-as?page=2" style="max-width: 100%;width:750px">Shutterstock/Fyland Designs Uncle Sam or Uncle Sam.-In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast began to popularize the image of Uncle Sam.

Nast depicts Uncle Sam with a white beard and a star-and-stripe suit, which then sticks to Uncle Sam’s current character.

However, the most famous depiction of Uncle Sam is perhaps the cartoon by artist James Montgomery Flagg.

In the Flagg version, Uncle Sam is wearing a tall hat and blue jacket, pointing at the viewer.

In the era of World War 1, this portrait of Uncle Sam, along with the words “I Want You For The US Army”, was used as a poster for army recruitment.

However, this very popular portrait was first used on the cover of a newspaper Weekly Leslie in July 1916 with the title “What Are You Doing For Preparedness?”

Apart from being used for army recruitment, the posters have been widely distributed, and have been reused many times with different descriptions.

In September 1961, the US Congress recognized Samuel Wilson as “the ancestor of Uncle Sam’s national symbol in America.”

Wilson died in 1854 at the age of 88, and was buried next to his wife Betsey Mann at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, New York, a city that has nicknamed itself “Uncle Sam’s Home.”

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