A summer-long exhibit is underway at the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village, formerly the Amherst Museum, celebrating the American icon Uncle Sam.
He is best known for the World War One recruitment poster created by J.M. Flagg, in which he declares "I Want You For US Army." But his origins are believed among many historians to go back about century earlier.
Bren Price is Trustee of the Buffalo Presidential Center, which is sponsoring the exhibit. He says the most credible backstory is from the War of 1812 and in the city of Troy, New York. It was there, he explained, that a wealthy man named Samuel Wilson was packing meats for American soldiers in barrels marked "U.S."
"The soldiers got wind of that. They realized where this was coming from," Price said. "And so, they coined the phrase 'He's our Uncle Sam.'"
Price continued that the local newspaper picked up the story and gave Uncle Sam further life. But when did the image of Uncle Sam come to be?
"In the 1860s and 70s and 80s, there was a political cartoonist by the name of Thomas Nast. He did political cartoons for many different publications," he explained. "He pictured Uncle Sam with long white hair and stars-and-stripes suits that we see today."
Although he is best remembered for that military recruitment poster, Price says Uncle Sam is a mascot for the American people and used for many different purposes, including commercials and promotions.
The exhibit will run through August. The Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village is open Wednesdays through Saturdays.
