Now legend has it that Uncle Sam was a man named Samuel Wilson, who slaughtered and provided large quantities of meat to the United States Army. His shipping crates carried the stamp "U.S.," which some say stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The nickname stuck and became the symbol for the federal government.

But the image of the eventual "I Want You" guy is often credited to a political cartoonist named Thomas Nast, a German born in 1840 who immigrated to the United States when he was 6 years old.

Nast left an indelible mark on our country through his satirical drawings and icons published in Harper's Weekly.

Perhaps no one epitomizes life, liberty and freedom more than Nast, who is known for creating the Democratic party's donkey and the Republican party's elephant.

He was also the one who created the icon Columbia, a graceful woman with a flowing, sleeveless gown known as the protector of the downtrodden. She came to symbolize the heart and soul of America through the late 1800s, similar to the way we perceive Lady Liberty today.

Nast's drawings were part of a remarkable time in our nation's history. His cartoons, which span 1858 through 1886, captured the Civil War, Reconstruction, political corruption, seven presidential elections and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

His sketches were so influential that he is cited as helping bring down New York's infamous Tammany Hall politician "Boss" Tweed, the outcome of Abraham Lincoln's re-election and Ulysses S. Grant's defeat over Horace Greeley for the presidency.

During election years Nast picked a candidate he wanted to win and then created political cartoons that supported their platforms.

Lincoln called Nast his "best recruiting sergeant," while Grant credited his victory to "the sword of [General Phil] Sheridan and the pencil of Nast."

And what makes Nast's story even more remarkable—perhaps pure all-American—is that Nast never learned to read or write. Yet he had a pulse on humanity and through his drawings ultimately affected who became president and society's perception of slavery, which also included the later injustices toward Chinese workers. His cartoons were also instrumental in helping to boot out corruption in politics.

When things were getting politically hot for William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, he was more concerned about the cartoons Nast was drawing than the stories journalists were writing.

Tweed said, "Let's stop those damned pictures. I don't care what the papers write about me ... my constituents can't read, but damn it, they can see pictures."

And when Tweed tried to escape, he was recognized by the cartoons Nast drew.

So the old cliché "a picture's worth a thousand words" was as true then as it is today.

This cartoonist, himself, was the perfect illustration of freedom of speech or press.

It was the incorporation of all forms of self-expression that was a paramount issue to our founding fathers. So much so that they placed it at the top of their list, making it the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights.

It was a right Nast used freely for almost 30 years, without anyone censoring his work or forcing him to change the way he viewed our government or country.

Nast's cartoons and the history behind them is just one of many examples of why we celebrate the Fourth of July and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Only in a country like the United States can an individual exercise his or her freedom to dissent without the authorities pounding down the door.

Some might argue that that statement may not be true at all times, but Americans still have it better than anywhere else on the planet.

So on July 4, while we are out there oohing and aahing over the fireworks and chowing down on barbecued food, we should also take a moment to remind ourselves just how fortunate we truly are. And remember why this is the country everyone wants to come to.

It's because of its basic tenet, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Moryt Milo is the editor of The Willow Glen Resident. She can be contacted at 400.200.1051 or mmilo@svcn.com.