You might have heard of Uncle Sam. But he was not the first fictional character to be used as a symbol of the United States. Earlier cartoons often used a character called Brother Jonathan. Brother Jonathan was named after Jonathan Trumbull. He was the governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Trumbull was the only colonial governor to support the revolutionary army. At first, Brother Jonathan was used to poke fun at the customs of New Englanders. But later he represented other states, too. Uncle Sam began to replace Brother Jonathan after the War of 1812.