Why do Americans called uncle Sam?

Answer 1

Thanks for asking this question ... I never knew the answer to this. Try reading this, it suggests a few theories :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam

Answer 2

Uncle Sam =U.S.=United States

Answer 3

Yep He's a mascot. Used as a recruitment tool for the military "Uncle Sam Wants You!" . Over the years though the character has become synonymous with the U.S. Govt. And is used to refer to it in the first person.

Answer 4

The term Uncle Sam dates back to either WWI or WWII and it was used by the military to recruit soldiers. You've probably seen the old posters of the image of Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying "I Want You".

Answer 5

Uncle Sam does stand for u.s., extra particularly the yank government. U.S. = Uncle Sam i does no longer call a man or woman that, it could desire to be humorous yet style of peculiar. ignore approximately Cali, each American knows of who Uncle Sam is.

Answer 6

Historians aren't completely certain how the character "Uncle Sam" was created, or who (if anyone) he was named after. The prevailing theory is that Uncle Sam was named after Samuel Wilson.

Wilson was born in Arlington, Mass., on September 13, 1766. His childhood home was in Mason, New Hampshire. In 1789, he and his brother Ebenezer walked to Troy, New York.

During the War of 1812, Wilson was in the business of slaughtering and packing meat. He provided large shipments of meat to the US Army, in barrels that were stamped with the initials "U.S." Supposedly, someone who saw the "U.S." stamp suggested -- perhaps as a joke -- that the initials stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The suggestion that the meat shipments came from "Uncle Sam" led to the idea that Uncle Sam symbolized the federal government.

Samuel Wilson died in 1854. His grave is in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.

Uncle Sam's traditional appearance, with a white goatee and star-spangled suit, is an invention of artists and political cartoonists; Samuel Wilson did not look like the modern image of Uncle Sam. For example, Wilson was clean-shaven, while Uncle Sam is usually portrayed with a goatee.

Thomas Nast, a prominent 19th-century political cartoonist, produced many of the earliest cartoons of Uncle Sam. However, historians and collectors take note: Many of Nast's cartoons may appear to depict Uncle Sam, while in fact they depict Yankee Doodle or "Brother Jonathan." It is easy to mistake a Brother Jonathan cartoon for one of Uncle Sam, since both figures wear star-spangled suits of red, white and blue. As a rule, Brother Jonathan was drawn with a feather in his cap, while Uncle Sam was not; and Uncle Sam is nearly always drawn with a beard, while Brother Jonathan was clean-shaven.

Some have suggested that Dan Rice, a 19th-century clown, inspired Thomas Nast's Uncle Sam cartoons. Rice's clown costume consisted of a hat and star-spangled suit, much like the costome worn by Uncle Sam. However, Rice was born in 1823, and did not begin clowning until 1844; and Uncle Sam cartoons appeared as early as 1838. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Rice was, in fact, the inspiration for Nast's cartoons.

The single most famous portrait of Uncle Sam is the "I WANT YOU" Army recruiting poster from World War I. The poster was painted by James Montgomery Flagg in 1916-1917.

Many early examples of Uncle Sam cartoons can be found in The Foremost Guide to Uncle Sam Collectibles, by Gerald E. Czulewicz (Collector Books, 1995).

Answer 7

He is a mascot, if you will. Did you notice his initials are U.S? That is no accident.

Answer 8

Oh you mean,Colonel Sanders...

Answer 9

their pushy government

Answer 10

cubsfreak2001's answer was very informative.