According to the Internets, Uncle Sam was the unintended creation of Samuel Wilson, who inspected meat purchased by the U.S. government during the War of 1812. Wilson’s assistant, Elbert Anderson, would ship him barrels of meat stamped with “E.A.” and “U.S.” The meat-packers working for Anderson had no idea what “U.S.” stood for until some smart-ass decided that it meant “Uncle Sam.” The joke spread along with the meat, and a national character was born. To celebrate Independence Day, here is a collection of Uncle Sam images from various print media.
1800s
In Harper’s Weekly (1862)
CAPTION: “Go ahead, Boys: I’ll take care of the Wives and Babies. GOD bless you!”
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In Harper’s Weekly (1864)
CAPTION: (to Young John Bull). “There, JACKY—there’s one of Daboll’s New Fog-Whistles for you. You’re always in a Fog about our affairs, you know. Now go and blow it upon Cape Race, and say it was UNCLE SAM sent you.”
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By Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly (1869)
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By Thomas Nast (1876)
CAPTION: “CUR-TAIL-PHOBIA. — U.S. ‘Because he steals? You are, as usual, ‘Mr. Statesman,‘ at the wrong end.'”
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By Grant Hamilton in Judge Magazine (1884)
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By Joseph Keppler in Puck Magazine (1895)
TITLE: “Uncle Sam’s Dream of Conquest and Carnage – Caused by Reading the Jingo Newspapers”
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In The Ram’s Horn (1896)
CAPTION: “EMIGRANT – ‘Can I come in?’ UNCLE SAM – ‘I ‘spose you can; there’s no law to keep you out.”
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In Sound Money (1896)
CAPTION: Cleveland holds Uncle Sam back while Spain pays old Rothschild’s bonds with Cuban blood.”
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By William Allen Rogers (1898)
TITLE: “Uncle Sam’s New Class in the Art of Self-Government”
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Early 1900s
By Emil Flohri in Judge Magazine (1907)
TITLE: “Uncle Sam – ‘I didn’t do that way with Cuba'”
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By J.K. Renour in Puck Magazine (1911)
TITLE: (J.P. Morgan) – “The Helping Hand”
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Poster by James Montgomery Flagg (1917)
Originally the cover for the July 6, 1916 issue of Leslie’s Weekly.
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Poster by James Montgomery Flagg (1918)
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Poster by W. Carson (1918)
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By Norman Rockwell in The Saturday Evening Post (1928)
TITLE: “Uncle Sam Takes Wings”
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1930s
By Miguel Covarrubias (1933)
TITLE: “The Wailing Wall of Gold”
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By Paulo Garretto in Vanity Fair (1934)
TITLE: “The Tattooed Man”
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By Berry Ardin (?) in LIFE Magazine (1934)
TITLE: “Dr. New Deal”
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By Frank Lea in The Country Gentleman (1936)
TITLE: “Which Way to Prosperity?”
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1940s
Cover by Lou Fine (1940)
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Cover by Jack Binder (1942)
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Cover by Gill Fox (1942)
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Cover by Reed Crandall (1942)
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Poster by McClelland Barclay (1942)
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Poster by N.C. Wyeth (1943)
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Cover by Alex Kotzky (1944)
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Poster by James Montgomery Flagg (1944)
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By Kukryniksy in Krokodil (1947)
TITLE: “Equal Partners” (addressing the creation of NATO)
Kukryniksy was the pen name for three cartoonists who worked for the Moscow satirical paper, Krokodil.
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1950s
By Jerry Costello (c. 1950)
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Art by unknown (c. 1950s?)
CAPTION: “Don’t Misbehave!”
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By D.R. Fitzpatrick (1951)
TITLE: “The Firing of McArthur”
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By John Fischetti for Collier’s (1953)
TITLE: “Time for a New Declaration”
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1960s
By John Collins (1960)
TITLE: “Look, I have a beard too!”
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By The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (1967)
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By Herbert Block in The Washington Post (1968)
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Cover by Norman Mingo (1969)
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1970s
Poster by The Committee to Help Unsell the Vietnam War (1971)
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Cover by Nick Cardy (1973)
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Cover by Ernie Chan (1976)
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Cover by Rich Buckler and Vince Colletta (1976)
Freedom Fighters was canceled by issue 15.
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1980s
By Ray Osrin in The Plain Dealer (1980)
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Cover by Gil Kane (1983)
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Cover by Jerry Ordway (1984)
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Cover by Lorenz (1988)
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1990s
By Mischa Richter in The New Yorker (1991)
CAPTION: (Lady Liberty to Uncle Sam) “I say we renounce world leadership and just have fun.”
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Cover by Alex Ross (1997)
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2000s
By Gary Varvel in The Indianapolis Star (2001)
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Wallpaper by Alex Ross (c. 2001)
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Cover by Daniel Acuna (2006)
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Cover by Dave Johnson (2007)
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By Nick Craig (2008)
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By Pat Bagley in The Salt Lake Tribune (2008)
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By Mike Keefe in The Denver Post (2011)
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By Nate Beeler in The Washington Examiner (2011)
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Many of the earliest Uncle Sam images were found at SonoftheSouth.net
The cover of National Comics #26 now correctly attributed.
Seems to me that *In The Ram’s Horn (1896)* is as suitable a “celebration” of July 4th as there is.
A wonderful gallery, such as Richard has accustomed us to.
Quibbles:
The cover of National Comics # 26 is not by Lou Fine, but by Reed Crandall.
Interesting to click on the ‘Uncle Sam’ tag– apparently this myth/symbol is still powerful.
Sigh, I knew I was going to incorrectly label one of those old covers. Fixed. Thanks, norb.
Aw, no harm, no foul. I think your holiday-linked galleries are pretty awesome! I remember the ones you did for Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year.
Ideally you’d do a gallery for every holiday. Think of the potential for Hallowe’en.
Or for President’s Day, you could showcase all the cartoon characters that have run for the office– Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Pogo, Captain America, Lex Luthor (who ‘won’!), Destiny (from Sub-Mariner), Etrigan the Demon, Howard the Duck,Prez, etc…
For Labor Day the sky would be the limit: presenting working men and women as depicted in comics.
Then there’s Easter, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Armistice Day, Arbor Day… plus ethnic holidays like Bastille Day, Yom Kippur, San Gennaro, Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa, Cinco de Mayo, Guy Fawkes Day (good excuse for a “V for Vendetta” reappraisal)…
Woo, you’ve got your work cut out, Richard!
RE: Uncle Sam:
— interesting to see that, early on, he was lacking the attributes (clothes, goatee, etc) we give him now. Even today, Tom Toles denies him the beard.
— also interesting, as well as worrying, is the prevalence of negative images of injury and weakness over the past 4 decades…
A pretty delightful selection; thanks for gathering!
BTW, in ““Uncle Sam’s Dream of Conquest and Carnage,” what is that limp pink thing dangling from the bottom of the Monroe Doctrine? I guess it’s supposed to be a ribbon, but it sure looks like… https://hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/uncle-sam-conquest1.png
That Steve Darnall/Alex Ross “U.S.” mini-series is worth checking out; about the strongest political critique of America’s failing to live up to its promises and image that ever came out of the Big Two…
norb – I’m afraid I’m not familiar enough with French comics to do any justice to Bastille Day. Maybe President’s Day…
You’re right that, early on, there was no consistent look to Uncle Sam. Thomas Nast deserves most of the credit for creating the most popular version. I think Nast had a big role in defining the popular view of Santa Claus too.
Mike – keep you mind out of the gutter! It’s a ribbon, I assure you.
Also, I had never even heard of the US miniseries until I did research for this piece. I might check it out, even though I have an aversion toward Alex Ross.
norb – that’s a good observation re: physical weakness. But I’m hesitant to ascribe a single reason for it. Cartoonists and comic artists are an inconsistent (and often thoughtless) bunch.
Wonderful collection of lithography and cartoons with expressions of wit and satire. Thanks