Brother Jonathan was a fictional character created to personify the entire United States, in the early days of the country's existence.
In editorial cartoons and patriotic posters, Brother Jonathan was usually depicted as a typical American revolutionary, with tri-cornered hat and long military jacket. Originally, from 1776 to 1783, "Brother Jonathan" was a mildly derisive term used by the Loyalists to describe the Patriots.
Famous quotes containing the word brother:
“If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again,—if you have paid your debts and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)