''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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.(26 August 1914)
About "Brother Jonathan"
''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

''O'Brien, Frank
The Story of the Sun (Part 3)
''

Munsey's Magazine ''Munsey's Weekly'', later known as ''Munsey's Magazine'', was a 36-page quarto United States, American magazine founded by Frank Munsey, Frank A. Munsey in 1889 and edited by John Kendrick Bangs. Frank Munsey aimed to publish "a magazine of the pe ...

'' (July 1917), pp. 294-95

History

Benjamin Day founded the first penny newspaper in the United States, ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', in 1833.Fellow, Anthony R
American Media History
p.86-88 (2nd ed. 2010) () He sold the paper to his brother-in-law,

Moses Yale Beach Moses Yale Beach (January 7, 1800 – July 18, 1868) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and publisher, who started the Associated Press, and is credited with originating print syndication. His fortune, as of 1846, amounted to ...

, in 1838.(22 December 1889)
A Pioneer In Journalism
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Retrieved November 23, 2010 After trying a few other publishing ventures, in 1842 Day formed a partnership with James G. Wilson to publish the weekly ''Brother Jonathan'' in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

format, focusing on reprinting English fiction (where no royalties were paid to the authors). However, the exact origins of the publication are a bit more complex, as

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New Y ...

and Park Benjamin, Sr., who started the ''Evening Tattler'' in 1839, started publishing ''Brother Jonathan'' in

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

format in July 1839, and it appears that Day and Wilson soon took over those publications.Mott, Frank Luther
A History of American Magazines, 1741-1850
(1930) ()(26 October 1839)
The Tattler and Brother Jonathan
''

New York Mirror The ''New-York Mirror'' was a weekly newspaper published in New York City from 1823 to 1842, succeeded by ''The New Mirror'' in 1843 and 1844. Its producers then launched a daily newspaper named ''The Evening Mirror'', which published from 1844 ...

'', Retrieved December 22, 2010Kopley, Richard
Edgar Allan Poe and the Dupin mysteries
p.107 (2008) () (reciting parts of the convoluted history, notes that

H. Hastings Weld Horatio Hastings Weld (4 February 1811 – 27 August 1888) (commonly referred to as H. Hastings Weld) was an American author, newspaper editor and minister.Wilson, James Grant & Fiske, John (eds.Appleton's cyclopædia of American biography, Volume ...

was also an early editor) The January 1, 1842 edition of ''Brother Jonathan'' is still listed as Volume 1, No. 1, despite the prior issues. In May 1843,

Ann S. Stephens Ann Sophia Stephens (March 10, 1810–August 20, 1886) was an American novelist and magazine editor. She was the author of dime novels and is credited as the progenitor of that genre. Early life Ann Sophia Stephens was born on March 30, 1 ...

and her husband purchased the paper and invited critic and activist John Neal to become chief editor. During his term as editor, which lasted for the rest of that year, he used ''Brother Jonathan'' to publish his most influential statement on

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, the ''Rights of Women'' speech, as well as articles and short stories that argued for

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...

, equal pay, and better workplace conditions for women. The ''

History of Woman Suffrage ''History of Woman Suffrage'' is a book that was produced by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Ida Husted Harper. Published in six volumes from 1881 to 1922, it is a history of the women's suffrage movement, prima ...

'' remembered that "Mr. Neal's lecture, published in ''The Brother Jonathan'', was extensively copied, and ... had a wide, silent influence, preparing the way for action. It was a scathing satire, and men felt the rebuke." ''Brother Jonathan'' became popular throughout the United States, and reportedly grew to a circulation of between 60–70,000. The name of the publication was a reference to Brother Jonathan, a common cultural reference (at the time) to a fictional character personifying New England, similar in appearance to

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

. Day kept the annual subscription price at $1 throughout the publication's existence, but stopped publishing in 1862 as paper prices rose, returning subscription fees with a note that he "would not publish a paper that could not be circulated for $1 a year."

References

{{reflist

External links

''Brother Jonathan'', Volume I
(January 1 - April 23, 1842) (Google books)
''Brother Jonathan'', Volume II
(April 30 - August 27, 1842) (Google books) Newspapers established in 1842 Publications disestablished in 1862 Defunct newspapers published in New York City 1842 establishments in New York (state) 1862 disestablishments in New York (state)