" Uncle Sam, " is usually used to refer to the United States or the US government. It is the nickname of the country. It is hard to believe that this nickname became known quite by accident and there was a man1" Uncle Sam." However, not many people have ever heard of such a man. Not even most young Americans.
The man was called Uncle Sam Wilson. He was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, September 13, 1776. At the age of 14 Sam joined the American Revolutionary War（美国革命）, and2in the army under George Washington until the end of the war. He then moved to Troy, New York states, and began a meatpacking business. He earned a reputation（赢得了声誉）for being honest and hardworking. He was locally respected and admired, thus greeted as Uncle Sam.
One day in 1812, a group of visitors came to Sam's meatpacking plant（肉类加工厂）. Among them was Government official. He3the capitalized letters（大写字母） EAUS on the packages of meat and asked what they stood for. A worker man replied that EA stood for Elbert Anderson, the businessman for whom Sam was working. And he added4that US（actually it was the short form for United States）stood for Uncle Sam Wilson. Soon soldiers were saying all army supplies were from " Uncle Sam " .
In May 1813, this story appeared in a newspaper published in New York. Since Uncle Sam was an example of a hard-working man and a lover of America, the idea of " Uncle Sam " as the name of this kind of man became well-known rapidly. Uncle Sam was ready to help5and place the interest of the nation（国家利益）above all—this is in line with （与 …… 符合）the American spirit. This makes the American consider Uncle Sam6the symbol of the USA. In 1961 the US Congress made a decision that "Uncle Sam " is the America's national symbol.
