NHD Annotation #2

1. National Icons. October 2008. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/SAM/

2. Uncle Sam has fulfilled many roles throughout his creation. People associate him with the nation as a whole and the federal government. Even though he was created in 1812, he was not officially adopted until 1950. It was in 1950 that the government decided that they needed a standardized image of him. People throughout the nation had a pretty good idea of what he looked like, but foreigners made up their own, mostly uncomplimentary, versions. Uncle Sam was not made up by the government or some propaganda office, but by the popular culture, and then adopted officially one hundred and thirty-seven years. The popularity of Uncle Sam after 1812 could be looked at as America’s first sense of identity. A previous symbol, such as Yankee Doodle, was looked at as more of a symbol for New Englanders. Uncle Sam wasn’t looked as an authority figure or monarch, like a parent, but as a brotherly symbol, such as an uncle. He is permanently intertwined within American history. 

3. This article is helpful to my research because it tells how the nation and world thought of him. This is a secondary source because it's his biography, someone wrote this about his image. The intended audience was for anyone who wanted to know about Uncle Sam's history.