Tracy Tausch, age 13, of Sarasota, Fla., for this question:

HOW DID UNCLE SAM GET STARTED?

In 1961 Uncle Sam became an official national symbol by an act of Congress. He is displayed, as we know, as a lanky Yankee with a skinny white beard, wearing his stars and stripes with a tall top hat. The whole idea got started in the early 1800s. Sam Wilson was proud of his job as Army meat inspector.

To show the world that each package of salted meat had been approved by the United States he stamped on a large US.   But the war was not altogether popular. Protesters in certain Northeastern states showed their disapproval by referring to Sam Wilson's US as Uncle Sam. A newspaper in Troy, N.Y., published a sketch of an Uncle Sam character. There was an Uncle Sam storybook and an Uncle Sam clown suit. When the war ended, the character became more popular. And through the years, Americans have grown very proud and very fond of their Uncle Sam character.