On March 13, 1852, the New York Lantern published an editorial cartoon titled “Raising the Wind; or, Both Sides of the Story,” criticizing United States policies on shipping. Cartoonist Frank Bellew depicted John Bull, the anthropomorphized representation of Great Britain, pumping a bellows to help his ships sail across a small tub. Uncle Sam, a fellow with a big hat and striped pants, stood on the side and watched. This was the first time anyone in the U.S. had drawn Uncle Sam, although by some accounts there were earlier depictions in London's Punch, and the character was by no means Bellew’s creation.
Uncle Sam wasn’t the first figure to represent America. The figure of a man named Brother Jonathan predates even the Revolutionary War, with possible connections to the Puritan Roundheads of the English Civil War. Early on, he was used to describe New England, and came to mean Yankees in general. George Washington was said to refer to Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull by the name, though that story may be apocryphal. Loyalists to the crown also used the term dismissively to refer to Revolution-era patriots. By some accounts, Uncle Sam evolved out of Brother Jonathan, and the two figures were used interchangeably from the 1830s-1860s.
When it comes to creating iconography, cartoonist Thomas Nast was a giant in the American landscape of the Civil War and the later 19th century. He created the kindly, sentimental version of Santa Claus we recognize today, and devised (or by some accounts just popularized) the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant to represent the two political parties. He was also famous for his cartoons of Abraham Lincoln, so it’s not surprising that certain elements of Lincoln made their way onto his versions of Uncle Sam, who became a little gaunter, a little older, and sprouted facial hair for the first time.
Many historians attribute the term “Uncle Sam” to a Troy, New York, businessman, Samuel Wilson ( Marvel Comics has its own Sam Wilson, who has at times, taken on the mantle of Captain America), whose friendly manner earned him the nickname “Uncle Sam” to his friends and customers. He supplied beef to the Army during the War of 1812. The beef was delivered in barrels stamped “U.S.” to indicate government property, but soldiers jocularly said it belonged to “Uncle Sam.” Wilson, by the way, served in the American Revolution at age 15, so if he was the inspiration for the name, he had the patriotic chops for it.