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Sidedoor · January 7 · 31 min

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

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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 

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