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Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. Common folklore holds that his origins trace back to soldiers stationed in upstate New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials U.S. The soldiers jokingly referred to it as the initials of the meat supplier, amuel Wilson, of Troy, New York. The 87th United States Congress adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." A monument marks his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts. However, counter-arguments to this theory have been raised by some (for example, see Cecil Adams' article at The Straight Dope) so the precise origin of the term may never be proven.

Most earlier representative figures of the United States such as "Brother Jonathan" were overtaken by Uncle Sam somewhere around the time of the Civil War. The female personification "Columbia" has seldom been seen since the 1920s. Uncle Sam was first used in a political cartoon, drawn by the famous Thomas Nast. After the American Civil War, whiskers were added to Uncle Sam in reference to Abraham Lincoln. Today, with the possible exception of the Statue of Liberty, the character of Uncle Sam is probably the most easily recognizable personification of the U.S.

During World War I a very famous recruitment poster depicted Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer with the words "I WANT YOU" appearing below. The artist James Montgomery Flagg, who painted the poster in 1917, used a modified version of his own face for Uncle Sam. Veteran Walter Botts posed for the drawing that became Uncle Sam.

The poster uses an artistic trick known since antiquity: if the pupils are drawn exactly centered in the eyes of a portrait, this gives an impression that the portrait "looks back" at the viewer wherever the viewer stands.

The poster was based on a similar World War I poster issued in the United Kingdom, picturing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose. Flagg's poster was revived and reprinted for recruitment during World War II.

The poster has been repeatedly imitated and parodied, with many different variations on the simple slogan. An imitation of note (and arguably of comparable fameUncle Sam is a Red Army recruitment poster "Did You Volunteer?"

In addition to the appearance of Uncle Sam in politics, the character has also appeared as a comic book hero for both Charlton and DC Comics. He is presented as the living embodiment of the United States and is the leader of the Freedom Fighters. See Uncle Sam (comics). There was also a short cartoon in the 1980s called "Uncle Sam's Adventures."

Furthermore, Uncle Sam appeared as a horror villain in the eponymously titled 1997 film, "Uncle Sam". In this film, several pseudo-patriotic elements are used, including Sam attacking people with "friendly fire" and eventually dying from two cannon blasts.