We talked about mascots in The Story Behind Sports Superstitions and Curses and about how they’re thought to bring a team luck. Well, mascots aren’t just for sports. The one we’ll be talking about today is basically a mascot for the United States, although you probably won’t see him performing cartwheels during halftime of the Olympics or something. This particular mascot went something of a personification of the country in political cartoons to being the representation of the U.S. government, and, although we won’t talk about it, was the title character of a 1996 slasher movie with the tagline: "I want you … dead." I’m your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Uncle Sam.
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Media:
Other Episodes of The Story Behind Referenced:
The Story Behind Sports Superstitions & Curses
The Story Behind Christmas Traditions
The Story Behind Secret Ballots
Sources:
Uncle Sam - Encyclopedia Britannica
1813: United States nicknamed Uncle Sam - History.com
Was there a real “Uncle Sam”? - History.com
9 Things You Might Not Know About Uncle Sam - Mental Floss
John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations - Library of Congress
Artist Biography: Joseph Ferdinand Keppler - Smithsonian Library
When America Was Female - The Atlantic
Columbia Pictures - Closing Logos Group
Sorry Uncle Sam, but Warrior Goddess Columbia Was Our Coolest National Mascot - Slate
