WHAT ARE SYMBOLS When you think of America what images come to mind You may think of the American flag or the Statue of Liberty Maybe you think of a Fourth of July barbecue with hot dogs fireworks and apple pie People outside the U S may think of America when they see a can of Coca-Cola or a McDonald's Sometimes pictures and symbols have a greater meaning than what you see There is a saying A picture is worth a thousand words Think of all the pictures that come to mind when you think about the United States of America What do these pictures mean to you 4
PATRIOTIC SYMBOLS During the war of 1812 Sam Wilson supplied barrels of meat labeled U S to the army Although the label was meant to stand for United States one of Wilson's workers guessed that the U S stood for Uncle Sam It made sense to people The name Uncle Sam became synonymous with the United States 6 This Uncle Sam statue was erected by the town of Arlington Massachusetts in honor of Samuel Wilson who was born in Arlington
Another war World War l came in 1914 Uncle Sam came back in perhaps the most famous poster in the world Millions of copies have been printed You have probably seen this poster that was created by James Montgomery Flagg It read I want you for the U S Army When the United States went to war again World War ll the Uncle Sam poster reappeared It was used to encourage patriotism The image has changed a bit over time but all the images are recognizable as Uncle Sam 7
