Brother Jonathan (Symbolfigur)

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{{About|the national emblem of New England|other uses|Brother Jonathan (disambiguation)}}

[[File:Brother jonathan.jpg|thumb|upright|Brother Jonathan in striped pants, somber overcoat, and Lincolnesque stove-pipe hat, as drawn by [[Thomas Nast]].]]

'''Brother Jonathan''' is the [[National personification#Personifications by country or territory|national personification]] and [[national emblem|emblem]] of [[New England]]. He was also used as an emblem of the USA in general, and can be an [[allegory]] of [[capitalism]]. The catch phrase "Brother Jonathan" came into use when George Washington struggled to provision his armies during the [[American War for Independence]] . When considered the state, or lack of, munotions and supplies, he would state, "We must consult Brother Jonathan" in reference to [Jonathan Trumbull] the Connecticut governor -- the only British governor who sided with the revolutionaries -- and who also a trader and mercantilist who was arranging supplies for the revolutionary armies.<ref>Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, 1769-1784 by Jonathan Trumbull on p. 326. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5yBCAAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=jonathan+trumbull+governor&ots=VF919JKBdx&sig=Z8buRBltMhPFk1S_eqteD1h7RqE#v=onepage&q=debt&f=false> </ref>. "Brother" was a reference to Washington's close friendship with Trumbull. Washington repeated the phrase every time he needed provisions. Ultimately, Jonathan Trumbull imdebted himself to a ruinous level ($14,000) in his efforts to secure war supplies. He could only keep the debt collectors at bay until the year before his death. The state of Connecticut was too bankrupt to repay Trumbull. <ref>http://museumofcthistory.org/2015/08/jonathan-trumbull//</ref>
The epithet "Brother Jonathan" was originally one for the USA and not just New England, as described in Jonathan Trumbull's biography (cited above).

Brother Jonathan soon became a stock [[fictional character]], developed as a good-natured parody of all New England during the early American Republic. He was widely popularized by the weekly newspaper ''[[Brother Jonathan (newspaper)|Brother Jonathan]]'' and the humor magazine ''Yankee Notions.''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcEcAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Yankee+notions&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AQgXUtebMKi0iQLo54DIDQ&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Yankee%20notions&f=false ''Yankee Notions'' in Google Books.]</ref> The phrase "we must consult Brother Jonathan" is attributed to [[George Washington|Gen. George Washington]] to celebrate the part that the northern colonies played for independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].{{cn|date=November 2016}}

Brother Jonathan was usually depicted in [[editorial cartoon]]s and [[patriotic]] posters outside New England as a long-winded New Englander who dressed in striped trousers, somber black coat, and stove-pipe hat. Inside New England, "Brother Jonathan" was depicted as an [[Capitalism|enterprising]] and active businessman who blithely boasted of [[Yankee]] conquests for the Universal Yankee Nation.<ref>[http://www.teachushistory.org/files/brotherjontojohnbull.pdf Teach Us History] - Here, "Brother Jonathan" is clearly a representative of a "Yankee," a New Englander, administering pear-juice to John Bull on behalf of Admiral Perry, during the War of 1812.</ref>

After 1865, the garb of Brother Jonathan was emulated by [[Uncle Sam]], a common personification of the continental [[American government|government of the United States]].

== History ==
[[File:CanadianAmericaRelationsCartoon1886.gif|thumb|upright|left|"Mrs. Britannia" and her daughter "Miss Canada" discussing whether "Cousin Jonathan" aspires to 'marriage' with Canada, in an 1886 political cartoon about fears of American aspirations to bring Canada into the Union]]

The term dates at least to the 17th century, when it was applied to [[Puritan]] [[roundheads]] during the [[English Civil War]].<ref name="Hart1995">{{cite book|author=James D. Hart|title=The Oxford Companion to American Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvmfshZxPf0C&pg=PA91|edition=6th.|date=12 October 1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-506548-0|page=91}}</ref> It came to include residents of colonial New England, who were mostly Puritans in support of the Parliamentarians during the war. It probably is derived from the Biblical words spoken by [[King David|David]] after the death of his friend [[Jonathan (1 Samuel)|Jonathan]], "I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan" (2 Samuel 1:26) . As [[Kenneth Hopper]] and [[William Hopper]] put it, "Used as a term of abuse for their ... Puritan opponents by Royalists during the English Civil War, it was applied by British officers to the rebellious colonists during the American Revolution".<ref>Hopper, Kenneth and William, ''The Puritan Gift: Triumph, Collapse and Revival of an American Dream'', I.B.Tauris, 2007, p.63.</ref>

A popular folk tale about the origin of the term holds that the character is derived from [[Jonathan Trumbull]] (1710–85), Governor of the State of [[Connecticut]], which was the main source of supplies for the Northern and Middle Departments during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. It is said that [[George Washington]] uttered the words, "We must consult Brother Jonathan," when asked how he could win the war.<ref>{{cite book | author = Gould, Dudley C | title= Times of Brother Jonathan: What He Ate, Wore, Believed in & Used for Medicine During the War of Independence| publisher = Southfarm Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-913337-40-0|pages=9–10|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTGZ7ur2t30C&printsec=frontcover&dq=times+of+brother+jonathan&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nd_AUPaZE-qs0AGGl4GwBA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA&pg=PA9}}</ref> That origin is doubtful, however, as neither man made reference to the story during his lifetime and the first appearance of the story has been traced to the mid-19th century, long after their deaths.<ref name="OED">The first printed usage of "Jonathan" as a generic name for a representative Yankee in the Oxford English Dictionary (second edition) is from 1816.</ref>

The character was adopted by citizens of New England from 1783 to 1815, when Brother Jonathan became a nickname for any [[New England|Yankee]] sailor, similar to the way that [[G.I. (military)|G.I.]] is used to describe members of the U.S. Army.

The term "[[Uncle Sam]]" is thought to date approximately to the [[War of 1812]]. ''Uncle Sam'' appeared in newspapers from 1813 to 1815, and in 1816 he appeared in a book.

The weekly newspaper ''Brother Jonathan'' was first published in 1842, issued out of New York, and it exposed North America to the character named "Brother Jonathan". ''Yankee Notions, or Whittlings of Jonathan's Jack-Knife'' was a high-quality humor magazine, first published in 1852, that used the stock character to lampoon Yankee acquisitiveness and other peculiarities. It, too, was issued out of New York, which was a rival with neighboring New England before the Civil war. It was a popular periodical with a large circulation, and people both inside and outside New England enjoyed it as good-natured entertainment. These jokes were often copied in newspapers as far away as California, where natives encountered Yankee ships and peddlers, inspiring Yankee impersonations in comedy burlesques. ''Brother Jonathan: or, the New Englanders'' was also the title of a book released in three volumes by John Neal.<ref>[http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001692793 Hathi Trust Digital Library]</ref> This was published in Edinburgh, illustrating the impact that the crafty New England character had on British literature.

Around the same time, the New England-based [[Know Nothing Party]], which ''Yankee Notions'' also lampooned, was divided into two camps—the moderate Jonathans and the radical Sams. Eventually, Uncle Sam came to replace Brother Jonathan, and the victors applied "Yankee" to all of the country by the end of the century, after the "Yankee" section had won the [[American Civil War]]. Likewise, "Uncle Sam" was applied to the Federal government.<ref>Note: Brother Jonathan fought the enemy "John Bull" during the War of 1812; so also did the North again fight ''Johnny'' (for example, [[Johnny Reb]] meant a Confederate soldier). However, the song "[[When Johnny Comes Marching Home]]" was sung on both sides.</ref> Uncle Sam came to represent the United States as a whole over the course of the late 19th century, supplanting Brother Jonathan.<ref>"[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/uncle+sam Uncle Sam]", Dictionary.com; accessed 2013.09.18.</ref>

According to an article in the 1893 ''The Lutheran Witness'', Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were different names for the same person:

"When we meet him in politics we call him Uncle Sam; when we meet him in society we call him Brother Jonathan. Here of late Uncle Sam ''alias'' Brother Jonathan has been doing a powerful lot of complaining, hardly doing anything else." (sic)<ref>December 7, 1893 "A Bit of Advice" ''The Lutheran Witness'' pg 100</ref>

== Legacy ==

The phrase "We must consult Brother Jonathan" appears on the [[Diploma|graduation certificates]] of [[Yale University]]'s [[Trumbull College]], also named for Trumbull.<ref>[http://trumbull.yalecollege.yale.edu/about/history "Trumbull College History"].</ref>

== See also ==

* [[John Bull]]
* [[Marianne]]
* [[Uncle Sam]]
* [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]
* [[Yankee]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Brother Jonathan}}
* [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/january/brother-jonathan.htm 1862 Harper's Weekly Brother Jonathan Cartoon]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=D7MRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0 ''The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan''] - complete 1827 text w. illustrations

{{American tall tales}}
{{New England}}
{{National personifications}}

[[Category:New England]]
[[Category:National personifications]]
[[Category:National emblems]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Brother Jonathan (Symbolfigur)