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KF5JRV > TODAY 07.09.18 12:25l 41 Lines 2132 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 20841_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sept 07
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<VE2PKT<N9PMO<AB0AF<KF5JRV
Sent: 180907/1115Z 20841@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.16
On this day in 1813, the United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam. The
name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who
supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of
1812.Wilson (1766-1854) stamped the barrels with “U.S.ö for United
States, but soldiers began referring to the grub as “Uncle Sam’s.ö The
local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained
widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government.
In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast
(1840-1902) began popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Nast continued to
evolve the image, eventually giving Sam the white beard and
stars-and-stripes suit that are associated with the character today. The
German-born Nast was also credited with creating the modern image of
Santa Claus as well as coming up with the donkey as a symbol for the
Democratic Party and the elephant as a symbol for the Republicans. Nast
also famously lampooned the corruption of New York City’s Tammany Hall
in his editorial cartoons and was, in part, responsible for the downfall
of Tammany leader William Tweed.
Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam was created by artist James
Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). In Flagg’s version, Uncle Sam wears a tall
top hat and blue jacket and is pointing straight ahead at the viewer.
During World War I, this portrait of Sam with the words “I Want You For
The U.S. Armyö was used as a recruiting poster. The image, which became
immensely popular, was first used on the cover of Leslie’s Weekly in
July 1916 with the title “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?ö The
poster was widely distributed and has subsequently been re-used numerous
times with different captions.
In September 1961, the U.S. Congress recognized Samuel Wilson as “the
progenitor of America’s national symbol of Uncle Sam.ö Wilson died at
age 88 in 1854, and was buried next to his wife Betsey Mann in the
Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, New York, the town that calls itself “The Home
of Uncle Sam.ö
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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