Will the Real Uncle Sam Please Stand Up?

He’s a symbol of patriotism, protest, and power. But behind the red, white, and blue is a real man—and a disputed American origin story. How did a real guy go from meatpacker to meme, to personification of a nation and, eventually, the most famous Army recruiter in history? I WANT YOU… to listen and find out. Guests: Frank Blazich , curator of modern military history at the Smithsonian's National Musuem of American History Kathy Sheehan , executive director of the Hart Cluett Museum in Troy, New York; The Redela County and Troy City historian

You can listen to Will the Real Uncle Sam Please Stand Up? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Will the Real Uncle Sam Please Stand Up? is an episode from Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution .

This episode is 31:14 long.

This episode was published on Jan 7, 2026.

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