
The phrase “I want you for US Army” can be easily linked today to the poster of Uncle Sam pointing at the American people encouraging them to join the Army. Since the poster was first created there have been many different versions of it, for example rather than having it say for the Army people have switched the words around to say something they want the people to do for them. This famous poster was created by James Montgomery Flagg, an artist who grew up in New York city in the late 1800s. He started off at a young age creating pictures and posters but it wasn’t until World War I where his Uncle Sam poster became so popular. Once World War I had begun, Flagg created 46 posters related to the war in America. Obviously one of his most popular became the Uncle Sam “I want you” poster, but all of his posters had specific meaning behind them. His posters encouraged not only men but women and children back home to help with the war effort. He used different posters to inspire different people around the country to use their resources to help win the war off the battlefield. Not only would they help with the war effort in World War I but they would also be helpful during World War II. The poster of Uncle Sam encouraging American men to join the U.S. Army is one of the most historical pictures in U.S. history because Flagg used visual elements and personification to promote patriotism at a time of world war. 

Flagg used many different visual elements in the poster of Uncle Sam. One of them has to do with the lines of the picture. Starting with the perimeter of the picture, he uses 2 lines that are red and blue to surround the picture. This puts Uncle Sam in perspective as he is in the middle of a red and blue border. The lines also go along with the color scheme and they make the picture stand out more rather than just having the background of the page as the border. Flagg also uses lines for the font in the poster. He makes sure he uses the same font for all the letters by using lines to keep them the same. Since the font he chose is very big and almost like block letters, he needed to use lines for all of the letters instead of just freehand. The lines may not stand out the most compared to the other elements in this poster however they are still very significant in the whole picture.

Another element in this poster is spacing which is seen pretty easily by the viewer. In the poster you have Uncle Sam right in the middle of the picture pointing directly at the viewer. This is supposed to be the main point being seen from the picture because it will catch the viewer’s eye. Once they are intrigued by the picture of Uncle Sam, they can look directly below the picture and see the “I want you for US Army” with the word you in bolded letters. Flagg puts this right below hoping the reader will first notice the picture and then read it. After that he has in smaller writing below saying “Nearest recruiting station”, which is hopefully if the viewer is interested in joining the Army, they know where to go. Similar to spacing there is scaling in the poster that is very important. In the poster Uncle Sam is clearly taking up most of the poster to grab the viewer’s attention. By making him bigger it makes the picture look a little more intimidating and since Uncle Sam portrays America it makes it very interesting. The letters below the picture of Uncle Sam have scale involved in them too. You can tell the “I want you” is bigger than the other words. Also the “you” is bolded and a different color to make it stand out. This is to emphasize that American needed “you” or people to join the Army and help fight. By making the word bigger it stands out more and makes it easier to see. The next element that is used in this poster is color. 

The most iconic colors in U.S. history are red, white and blue which are the colors of the flag. In this poster Flagg uses America’s colors as the color scheme. They are the perfect colors to promote patriotism and to get the attention of somebody who might want to fight for their country. Flagg does this by dressing Uncle Sam in a red, white and blue suit and a white hat with the stars from the U.S. flag around it. He keeps the same colors in the letters below Uncle Sam. To stress the word “you” he makes it a different color than the other letters too. The outline of the entire poster is also red and blue which goes with the picture very nicely. By using the same colors, it makes the entire poster come together and it stands out more. 

Probably the most important part of this poster is the personification of Uncle Sam. Flagg creates Uncle Sam to portray America. Even though he is a fictional character, Flagg has him speak to the American people by saying “I want you for US Army”. By having a person represent the United States and speak to the American people, it makes the viewer feel more of a connection to the poster. Rather than just a picture of an American flag saying to join the Army, a person pointing directly at the viewer saying he wants the viewer to join the Army is more powerful. 

James Montgomery Flagg’s poster of Uncle Sam is one of the most historical pictures in U.S. history because he used visual elements and personification to promote patriotism during World War I. At the time the poster would help recruit men to join the Army during the war. Flagg’s Uncle Sam poster was unique because Uncle Sam portrayed the United States and it was a different approach to encourage people to join the Army. Through the use of space, scaling, line and color, Flagg was able to create an iconic poster that would be remembered years later because of its significance in American history.  
