{"id":528271,"date":"2024-07-04T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/?p=528271"},"modified":"2024-07-04T00:07:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T04:07:49","slug":"uncle-sam-history-fourth-of-july-troy-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/uncle-sam-history-fourth-of-july-troy-ny\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Uncle Sam, the Embodiment of the Fourth of July"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a real life nephew of your Uncle Sam,
\nBorn on the Fourth of July.<\/em>
— \u201cYankee Doodle Boy,\u201d lyrics by George M. Cohan<\/p>

On this July Fourth, with flags flying, fireworks bursting in air, and backyard picnics, let\u2019s look at one of the most popular avatars of our country. Symbols of our identity as a nation have been with us since the beginning. Occasionally, as the centuries pass, another one is added. Some are more powerful than others, but most are easily identifiable as belonging to the United States of America: the bald eagle, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty and, of course, Uncle Sam.<\/p>\n

The tall, lanky figure with the white hair and goatee, the red and white striped pants, blue waistcoat, and white top hat with a blue ribbon band of stars has been the embodiment of the United States in some way, shape, or form for over 200 years. But like most legendary figures, there is a real person behind the symbol. In this case, it was a New England-born brickmaker and meat-packer named Samuel Wilson, who lived and worked in Troy, N.Y.<\/p>\n %<\/span><\/span> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> Single Page<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this July 4th, with flags flying, fireworks bursting in air, and backyard picnics, let\u2019s look at one of the most popular avatars of our country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11099,"featured_media":529110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_html":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_src":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7646],"tags":[24532,34601],"districts":[],"class_list":["post-528271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-fourth-of-july","tag-uncle-sam"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Story of Uncle Sam, the Embodiment of the Fourth of July","url":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/uncle-sam-history-fourth-of-july-troy-ny\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/uncle-sam-history-fourth-of-july-troy-ny\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/uncle-sam-i-want-you-poster-library-congress-flagg-illustration-feature-3.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/uncle-sam-i-want-you-poster-library-congress-flagg-illustration-feature-3.jpg"},"articleSection":"History","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Spellen"}],"creator":["Suzanne Spellen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Brownstoner","logo":""},"keywords":["fourth of july","uncle sam"],"dateCreated":"2024-07-04T13:30:00Z","datePublished":"2024-07-04T13:30:00Z","dateModified":"2024-07-04T13:30:00Z"},"rendered":"