Uncle Sam was (probably) a real dude
As the physical embodiment of all things American, Uncle Sam has been used to represent the likes of freedom, Big Brother, consumerism, fetus-snatching, and everything in between. But just over 200 years ago, this anthropomorphized flag of a man was an actual, living human being—and a too-weak-to-enlist one, at that. When Samuel Wilson (born 1766)…
