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Uncle Sam Day

History ยท September 13

Uncle Sam Day looks at the tall, white-bearded figure in a starred top hat who has long stood for the United States government.

Uncle Sam Day

Uncle Sam Day falls on Monday, September 13, 2027. That is 321 days away.

Uncle Sam is the United States drawn as a person. He is tall and thin, with white hair, a goatee and a top hat with stars on the band. His suit is usually red, white and blue, and he tends to look straight at you.

The name works because of the initials. U.S. becomes Uncle Sam, and a country becomes someone you could picture across the dinner table. A popular story ties the name to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, whose barrels of food for soldiers were stamped U.S. People reading the stamp are said to have joked that the food came from Uncle Sam.

The best-known image is a recruiting poster. Uncle Sam points at the viewer above the words I Want You. The pose has been copied and reworked so often that many people know it without ever having seen the original.

He turns up at parades, often on stilts, which suits a character who was always drawn taller than everyone else. He also appears in political cartoons, in classroom history lessons and on a fair share of souvenir hats. Artists have drawn him stern, cheerful, tired and puzzled, depending on what the country seemed to be feeling at the time.

Looking at old drawings of him side by side is a quick way to see how his look settled over time. The beard, the hat and the stripes slowly became the version that stayed.

Ways to celebrate

Dates

YearDate
2026Sunday, September 13
2027Monday, September 13
2028Wednesday, September 13
2029Thursday, September 13
2030Friday, September 13

All national days on September 13

Also on September 13

Categories: History days