Question

What is the origin or meaning behind the name Uncle SAM?

Answer 1

It's just a comic acronym for the government of the UNited States of AMerica ! . ...Since the government is always asking its soldiers to go somewhere, fetch something, or do some of its own (dirty !) work, just as any biological uncle probably would, the 'boys' had coined this nick !

Answer 2

Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. Common folklore holds that his origins come from the men of an army base in Troy, New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials U.S. The soldiers jokingly referred to it as the initials of the meat supplier, Uncle Samuel Wilson. The 87th United States Congress adopted the following Resolution on September 15, 1961 - Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam. A monument marks his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts. However, counter-arguments to this theory have been raised by some (for example, see Cecil Adams' article at The Straight Dope) so the precise origin of the term may never be proven.

Answer 3

Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. Common folklore holds that his origins trace back to soldiers stationed in upstate New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials U.S. The soldiers jokingly referred to it as the initials of the meat supplier, Uncle Samuel Wilson, of Troy, New York. The 87th United States Congress adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." A monument marks his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts. However, counter-arguments to this theory have been raised by some (for example, see Cecil Adams' article at The Straight Dope) so the precise origin of the term may never be proven.. . Most earlier representative figures of the United States such as "Brother Jonathan" were overtaken by Uncle Sam somewhere around the time of the Civil War. The female personification "Columbia" has seldom been seen since the 1920s. Uncle Sam was first used in a political cartoon, drawn by the famous Thomas Nast. After the American Civil War, whiskers were added to Uncle Sam in reference to Abraham Lincoln. Today, with the possible exception of the Statue of Liberty, the character of Uncle Sam is probably the most easily recognizable personification of the U.S.