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Join, or Die
Join, or Die is a famous political cartoon created by
Benjamin
Franklin and first published in his Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9,
1754.. The original a publication by the Gazette is the earliest
known pictorial representation of colonial union produced by a
British colonist in America. It is a woodcut showing a snake severed
into eighths, with each segment labeled with the initial of a
British American colony or region. The cartoon appeared along with
Franklin's editorial about the "disunited state" of the colonies,
and helped make his point about the importance of colonial unity.
During that era, there was a superstition that a snake which had
been cut into pieces would come back to life if the pieces were put
together before sunset.
Role During French and Indian War
At that time, the colonists were divided on whether to fight the
French and their Indian allies for control of the land west of the
Appalachian Mountains, in what came to be known as the French and
Indian War. It became a symbol for the need of organized action
against an outside threat posed by the French and Indians in the mid
18th century. Writer Philip Davidson states that Franklin was a
propagandist influential in seeing the potential in political
cartoons. Franklin had proposed the Albany Plan and his cartoon
suggested that such a union was necessary to avoid destruction. As
Franklin wrote,
"The Confidence of the French in this Undertaking seems
well-grounded on the present disunited State of the British
Colonies, and the extreme Difficulty of bringing so many different
Governments and Assemblies to agree in any speedy and effectual
Measures for our common defense and Security; while our Enemies have
the very great Advantage of being under one Direction, with one
Council, and one Purse...."
Role Prior to and during the American Revolution
Franklin's political cartoon took on a different meaning during the
lead up to the American Revolution, especially around 1765-1766,
during the Stamp Act Congress. British colonists in America
protesting British rule used the cartoon in the Constitutional
Courant to help persuade the colonists. However, the Patriots, who
associated the image with eternity, vigilance, and prudence, were
not the only ones who saw a new interpretation of the cartoon. The
Loyalists saw the cartoon with more biblical traditions, such as
those of guile, deceit, and treachery. Franklin himself opposed the
use of his cartoon at this time, but instead advocated a moderate
political policy; in 1766 he published a new cartoon "MAGNA
Britannia: her Colonies REDUC'D"[6] in 1766. Because of this
cartoon, the "Courant" was thought of in England as one of the most
radical publications.
The difference between the use of "Join or Die" in 1754 and 1765 is
that Franklin had designed it to unite the colonies for defense
against France, but in 1765 American colonists used it to urge
colonial unity against the British. Also during this time the phrase
"join, or die" changed to "unite, or die," in some states such as
New York and Pennsylvania.
Soon after the publication of the cartoon during the Stamp Act
Congress, variations were printed in New York, Massachusetts, and a
couple months later it had spread to Virginia and South Carolina. In
some states, such as New York and Pennsylvania, the cartoon
continued to be published week after week for over a year.
Legacy of the Cartoon
The cartoon has been reprinted and redrawn widely throughout
American history. Variants of the cartoon have different texts, e.g.
"Unite or Dead", and differently labeled segments, depending on the
political bodies being appealed to. During the American
Revolutionary War, the image became a potent symbol of Colonial
unity and resistance to what was seen as British oppression. It
returned to service, suitably redrawn, for both sides of the
American Civil War.
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