NHD Annotation #3

1. Evolving Symbols. October 2008.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/SAM/

2. Society is built upon symbols. They are needed to identify groups and individuals, which people create. Symbols can be used for two things. One is that it becomes a marker for the symbolized. They also stand for ideas and concepts. They tell the characteristics and clues about what it symbolizes.

A symbol for America had been thought about long before Uncle Sam was created. The first symbols for America were animalistic. As European civilization expanded, it influenced America into seeing male representatives. He was to be considered one of the “average” American men. This actual man turned into a cartoon character over time.

3. This article was helpful to my research because it gave me the history of American symbols and how they changed over time. This is a secondary source because someone wrote this about symbols. The intended audience was anyone who wanted to learn how our country's sumbols changed.