Did you know how America became Uncle Sam? How did the Democrats become donkeys and the Republicans elephants? Let us walk you through the funniest facts you never knew about the history of America.
Key Points
The first American President
Most people believe that the first American president was George Washington. This is what we’ve been taught at school. But the truth is completely different. George Washington was not the first American President. Instead, it was John Hanson.
The Articles of Confederation are known to be the first American attempt at self-government. John Hanson was the first president under this article. The Article of Confederation was replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789, under which Washington became the first president.
The birth of the Democratic Donkey and Republican Elephant
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant Well, it was Andrew Jackson who was first associated with the Donkey.
It all started in the presidential elections of 1828, when politics got too personal. The Democratic candidate Andrew Jackson was called a jackass (Donkey) by his opponents. Jackson, instead of taking the statement as humiliating, adopted the image of the strong willed animal in his campaign posters.
The Republican elephant was also born out of ridicule. The cartoonist Thomas Nast published a cartoon in an 1874 edition of Harper’s Weekly in which he labeled an elephant as the Republican vote. thus giving the Republicans their strong and dignified image.
“Teddy” Bears and Roosevelt
“Teddy Bears” were so named when Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1858–1919) refused to shoot a small bear cub one day. The incident was reported in the news, which inspired a toy manufacturer to come out with the cute stuffed animals.
The Bush Thing
After President Bush Sr. vomited on the Japanese Prime Minister, a new word entered the Japanese language. Bushusuru means “to do the Bush thing,” or to publicly vomit.
First American Flag
The first American flag was a little different from the one you see today. It contained 13 stars instead of today’s 50. The stars were designed in a circle in the corner section. The circular arrangement declares the equality of each state and that no state has any power over the other.
It was designed by Betsy Ross during the American Revolution.
The undiscovered Japanese bombs
During World War II, Japan bombed the United States using balloons. Although many of them never reached the USA, some actually caused damage, including one incident in 1944 in which a family in Oregon was killed.
According to some people, there are many such bombs in the US that are yet to be discovered. Be prepared, as you may come face-to-face with one of them some day.
Marijuana is legal in the US.
Marijuana hasn’t always been an illegal crop. Instead, marijuana was Kentucky’s major crop in the 1800s. Marijuana was not used for smoking then; rather, it was valued for its fiber, called hemp, which was used in ships’ sails, rope, twine, paper, and canvas. Even George Washington personally grew the crop.
How America became “Uncle Sam”
Did you ever know who actually was “Uncle Sam”? Uncle Sam, or Samuel Wilson, was a butcher in New York who shipped pork to the Army during the War of 1812.
He never looked like the “Uncle Sam” we see in posters. The man who posed for posters was actually Dan Rice, a professional clown. Dan Rice even fought the election for the presidency but lost.
Smiths vs. Vietnam
American soldiers with the surname “Smith” suffered the most casualties during the Vietnam War, with 667 deaths. Johnson was second with 557, and William stood third with 406. A total of 58,152 soldiers were killed in the war.
Why Tuesday? Why November?
The US presidential election is always held on a Tuesday in November. It all comes down to weather, harvest, and worship.
Back when voters traveled to the polls by horse, Tuesday was an ideal day because it allowed people to worship on Sunday, ride to their county seat on Monday, and vote on Tuesday—all before market day, Wednesday.
And the month of November fits nicely between harvest time and brutal winter weather, which can be especially bad when you’re trudging along by horse and buggy.
