United States Army: Uncle Sam campaign
Robert SchnakenbergOverview
"The United States without Uncle Sam would seem like Christmas without Santa Claus," wrote historian Alton Ketchum in 1959. For 125 years, Uncle Sam has been the symbol for the United States and, specifically, of the U.S. government. His name came from a Revolutionary industrialist and patriot, and his familiar glowering visage was created and refined by a succession of cartoonists and illustrators, most notably James Montgomery Flagg.
Used widely in army recruiting posters during World Wars I and II, Uncle Sam fell into disfavor in the 1960s and was seldom...