A History of Uncle Sam

Guest: Don Hickey, PhD, Professor of History, Wayne State College in Nebraska Let’s look now at an iconic American symbol—lanky, goateed Uncle Sam, decked out in stars-and-stripes who “wants you” for some patriotic duty. The image is credited to a political cartoonist named Thomas Nast who also came up with popular image of the jolly Santa Claus we know with the white beard and red cheeks. But just how Uncle Same came to represent the United States government is a murkier story that includes a long period when calling the government “Uncle Sam” was actually derogatory.