Uncle Sam and his model

We all know something about the story of this poster. It was James Montgomery Flagg who imagined it for the first time in 1917, to encourage American citizens to join the army, proudly defend the interests of their country and help Europe to deal with WW1.
But why "Uncle Sam"? And who is this man on the picture?




Once upon a time, there was a man named Samuel Wilson, but people often called him by his nickname - Sam. He lived a quiet life in the lovely city of Troy, running his meat-packing business. Everyone knew him for his honesty, and professionalism. And when the war started, since the army needed meat supply, Wilson accepted to work in collaboration with Elbert Anderson to issue the necessary meat. Later, the initials of Uncle Sam were associated to those of the United States, making him the most famous personification of the country, and a symbol of patriotism.
Finally, in 1961, the Congress recognized that Samuel Wilson was at the origin of the figure of Uncle Sam.
And the man in front of it is Walter Botts, the real person who physically inspired this poster.

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