Sep 7, 1813: United States nicknamed Uncle Sam
1813年9月7日：美国绰号“山姆大叔

On this day in 1813, the United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam. The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. Wilson (1766-1854) stamped the barrels with "U.S." for United States, but soldiers began referring to the grub as "Uncle Sam's." The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government.
1813年的这一天，美国获得了它的绰号“山姆大叔”。这个名字是与一个来自纽约特洛伊叫塞缪尔·威尔逊的肉类包装商有关，他在1812年战争期间为美国军队提供桶装牛肉。威尔逊（1766-1854）为美国在桶上盖上“美国”的印章，但士兵们开始用“山姆大叔的”来指这个食物。当地的报纸把它写进报道里，“山姆大叔”开始广泛地被当作美国联邦政府的昵称。

In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) began popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Nast continued to evolve the image, eventually giving Sam the white beard and stars-and-stripes suit that are associated with the character today. The German-born Nast was also credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as well as coming up with the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party and the elephant as a symbol for the Republicans. Nast also famously lampooned the corruption of New York City's Tammany Hall in his editorial cartoons and was, in part, responsible for the downfall of Tammany leader William Tweed.
19世纪六七十年代后期，政治漫画家托马斯·纳斯特（1840-1902）开始普及山姆大叔的形象。纳斯特继续发展这个形象，最终给山姆画上了与其现今特征有关的白胡子和带有星星和条纹的西装。创造现代圣诞老人形象以及提出象征民主党的驴子和象征共和党的大象也要归功于出生在德国的纳斯特。纳斯特也在他的社论漫画中公开讽刺纽约市坦慕尼协会腐败，而且，在某种程度上，他也是坦慕尼领导人威廉·特威德垮台的原因。

Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam was created by artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). In Flagg's version, Uncle Sam wears a tall top hat and blue jacket and is pointing straight ahead at the viewer. During World War I, this portrait of Sam with the words "I Want You For The U.S. Army" was used as a recruiting poster. The image, which became immensely popular, was first used on the cover of Leslie's Weekly in July 1916 with the title "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" The poster was widely distributed and has subsequently been re-used numerous times with different captions.
也许山姆大叔最著名的形象是由艺术家詹姆斯·蒙哥马利·弗雷戈（1877-1960）创造的。在弗雷戈的版本中，山姆大叔带着一顶高顶帽，穿着蓝色外套，向前直指观看者。第一次世界大战期间，山姆的这幅画像，带着“我要你加入美国军队”的字样，被用作招募海报。这个形象变得非常受欢迎，它第一次被用在1916年7月莱斯利周刊的封面上，标题是“你为战备做了什么？”。该海报被广为散发，后来在不同标题下被重新使用了无数次。

In September 1961, the U.S. Congress recognized Samuel Wilson as "the progenitor of America's national symbol of Uncle Sam." Wilson died at age 88 in 1854, and was buried next to his wife Betsey Mann in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, New York, the town that calls itself "The Home of Uncle Sam."  
1961年9月，美国国会认可塞缪尔·威尔逊为“美国的国家象征山姆大叔的鼻祖”。威尔逊1854年逝世，时年88岁，被埋在纽约特洛伊奥克伍德公墓他妻子贝齐·曼的旁边，这座城镇自称是“山姆大叔的故乡”。