by Tom Ewing
July 3, 2025
Uncle Sam riding a bicycle has been a recurring symbol of patriotism, identity, and technology for more than a century. While Uncle Sam consistently represents the United States, the bicycle itself has a more complicated meaning that usually involves some combination of speed, efficiency, and direction. Recognizing these complicated meanings provides a way to think about Uncle Sam as we approach the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Two cartoons from 1898 used the same symbol to explore contrasting views of the changing role of the United States in global competition. The American humor magazine Judge responded to America’s emerging role as a world power in September 1898 by publishing a front page cartoon showing Uncle Sam riding a bicycle. The front wheel was marked “Western Hemisphere” and the rear wheel marked “Eastern Hemisphere,” with outline maps highlighting two regions of recent US intervention: Cuba (spelled Coba) and Porto Rico on the front wheel and the Philippines and Hawaii on the rear wheel. A riderless horse in the background has a saddle marked “Monroe Doctrine,” indicating the previous foreign policy which limited American involvement to the Americas. Three figures in the back represent the European powers being left behind by the freewheeling Uncle Sam. Austria and Russia are marked, and the third figure, shaking a fist, may represent France. The caption reads: “Coasting: The old horse was too slow for Uncle Sam.” The the text on the maps, the posture of the three figures in the background, the position of the horse, and the delighted expression of Uncle Sam’s face as he rolled down the hill without even using the pedals clearly communicated the message of the cartoon: the United States was becoming a world power, leaving behind the past, challenging the rest of the world, and everything was going to be great.
A different cartoon published a few months earlier, in late May 1898, used the same symbolism to communicate a different message. This cartoon first appeared in the Montreal Witness, and then was widely republished in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. The cartoon shows representative figures for the United States and United Kingdom riding a tandem bicycle. The figure in front is called “Jonathan,” an older name for a figure representing the United States, with the striped pants and top hat with stars distinctive to Uncle Sam. The front wheel is a map of the Americas and the read wheel is a map of Africa, Europe, Asia, and Indo-Pacific region. H caption reads: “The Alliance Wheel. John Bull: Now, Jonathan, steady, both together, and we’ll control the movement of this old wheel.” The cartoon’s message is clear: the United States and United Kingdom need to work together, in coordinated and deliberate ways, to control world politics.
The contrasting message of these two cartoons, from the same era and using similar symbolism, reflect a tension that runs through the history of the United States: to work cooperatively and productively with other powers on shared interests or to act independently, defying other states and pursuing only American interests. These themes are explored in the Yorktown episode of the podcast, as the starting point for westbound riders and the ending point for eastbound riders on Route 76 is also the moment in 1782 when the independence of the United States involved defying one European power and exploiting the shared interests of another European power. Almost 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, these tensions in the relationship between America and the world continue to shape global politics.
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