What is "brother jonathan"

Brother \Broth"er\ (br[u^][th]"[~e]r), n.; pl. Brothers (br[u^][th]"[~e]rz) or Brethren (br[e^][th]"r[e^]n). See Brethren. [OE. brother, AS. br[=o][eth]or; akin to OS. brothar, D. broeder, OHG. pruodar, G. bruder, Icel. br[=o][eth]ir, Sw. & Dan. broder, Goth. br[=o][thorn]ar, Ir. brathair, W. brawd, pl. brodyr, Lith. brolis, Lett. brahlis, Russ. brat', Pol. & Serv. brat, OSlav. bratr[u^], L. frater, Skr. bhr[=a]t[.r], Zend bratar brother, Gr. fra`thr, fra`twr, a clansman. The common plural is Brothers; in the solemn style, Brethren, OE. pl. brether, bretheren, AS. dative sing. br[=e][eth]er, nom. pl. br[=o][eth]or, br[=o][eth]ru.

1. A male person who has the same father and mother with another person, or who has one of them only. In the latter case he is more definitely called a half brother, or brother of the half blood.

   Note: A brother having the same mother but different fathers is called a uterine brother, and one having the same father but a different mother is called an agnate brother, or in (Law) a consanguine brother. A brother having the same father and mother is called a brother-german or full brother. The same modifying terms are applied to sister or sibling.

   Two of us in the churchyard lie, My sister and my brother.
   --Wordsworth.

2. One related or closely united to another by some common tie or interest, as of rank, profession, membership in a society, toil, suffering, etc.; -- used among judges, clergymen, monks, physicians, lawyers, professors of religion, etc. ``A brother of your order.''
   --Shak.

   We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.
   --Shak.

3. One who, or that which, resembles another in distinctive qualities or traits of character.

   He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
   --Prov. xviii. 9.

   That April morn Of this the very brother.
   --Wordsworth.

   Note: In Scripture, the term brother is applied to a kinsman by blood more remote than a son of the same parents, as in the case of Abraham and Lot, Jacob and Laban. In a more general sense, brother or brethren is used for fellow-man or fellow-men.

   For of whom such massacre Make they but of their brethren, men of men?
   --Milton.

   Brother Jonathan, a humorous designation for the people of the United States collectively. The phrase is said to have originated from Washington's referring to the patriotic Jonathan Trumbull, governor of Connecticut, as ``Brother Jonathan.''

   Blood brother. See under Blood.

sobriquet for "United States," 1816, often connected with Jonathan Trumbull (1740-1809) of Connecticut, called Brother Jonathan by George Washington, who often sought his advice, somehow in reference to 2 Sam i:26.

Brother Jonathan is the national personification and emblem of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the USA in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. The term "Brother Jonathan" probably came into use during the American War for Independence. 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 and the wildly popular humor magazine Yankee Notions. A phrase attributed to Gen. George Washington, "We must consult Brother Jonathan" is used in New England to this day, at Yale University, to celebrate the part the northern colonies played for independence from Great Britain.

In editorial cartoons and patriotic posters outside New England, Brother Jonathan was usually depicted 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 enterprising and "go-ahead-itive" businessman who blithely boasted of Yankee conquests for the Universal Yankee Nation.

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

Brother Jonathan was a weekly publication operated by Benjamin Day from 1842 to 1862, and was the first weekly illustrated publication in the United States.

Brother Jonathan is an iconic figure and emblem of the states of New England.

Brother Jonathan may also refer to:

• Brother Jonathan (newspaper), an historic periodical published out of New York City that stopped publication during the Civil War.
• Brother Jonathan (steamer), an historic ocean vessel, known for regularly rounding Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.
• My Brother Jonathan (1948), a British film starring Michael Denison.
• Jonathan (1 Samuel), the best friend of King David of Israel, whom David loved as a brother.