Hi, August! I am waiting four hours for the potato salad I made to do whatever it does before anyone is allowed to eat it, so I have a little time to play. I have the Greatful Dead playing in the foreground, and I found some more interesting Fourth of July stuff on the computer. There was even an art gallery of Uncle Sam Greatful Dead art, with Bob Weir remarking that the Dead considered him the godfather of America. Do you think that is a little tongue in cheek?
Incidentally, does everyone know the the actual history of Uncle Sam?
Here it is!
UNCLE SAM
"Uncle Sam" was originally a real person, but his character
was developed over a century and a half by political and
commercial artists into a universal personification of the
United States.
Samuel Wilson of Massachusetts (1766-1854) served as a
drummer boy and then soldier in the Revolutionary War. In
1789, he moved to Troy, New York, where he built up a
thriving business as a meat-packer. Because of his friendly
and fair-dealing business manner, Wilson soon earned the
affectionate nickname of "Uncle Sam."
In the War of 1812, Wilson provided pork and beef to the Army troops camped on
the outskirts of Troy. He shipped these rations in barrels labelled "US"---i.e., for the
Army and not for retail sale. But the abbreviations "US" and "USA" were not yet in
general use at that time. When a Federal inspection crew visited Wilson's plant on
October 1, 1812, they asked a workman what "US" signified. Unsure, the worker
replied with a laugh that it must mean his employer, "Uncle Sam."
Soon, soldiers and civilians alike transferred the nickname
from the real Uncle Sam to the Federal Government. This
made it inevitable that caricatures of Uncle
Sam---like those of "John Bull," already then
used to personify England---would appear in
the press. Though Sam Wilson was tall and
thin, the imaginary Uncle Sam first appeared
as a portly man, in a black top hat and tails.
Later, he was dressed more patriotically, in
the colors of the Flag. Finally, he became tall, gaunt and bearded after
Thomas Nast and other 19th-century political cartoonists began to
model him on Abraham Lincoln.
Throughout the 20th century, Uncle Sam has continued to embody
the government and spirit of the United States---for critics as well as
admirers. His most famous role has been in the poster (above)
designed by James Montgomery Flagg in 1916-17. True to his avuncular nature,
Uncle Sam remains a sometimes serious, sometimes humorous symbol of the USA.
I was going to provide the url, but it was over four lines long, for some reason I obviously don't understand. Now here is a very nice page created by someone named Kate, where you can listen to a firecracker, download a 4th of July screensaver, and explore all sorts of fun stuff, including more about watermelon recipes than I have ever seen in one place:
kate.gulf.net |
