Political Cartoons: Join, or Die

"Join, or Die" is a political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin, published in his Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper in 1754. The cartoon depicts a snake divided into eight segments, each labeled with the initials of a British American colony or region. The cartoon was created during the French and Indian War, a conflict that pitted the British and their American colonies against the French and their Native American allies. At the time, the colonies were divided and lacked a centralized government or military organization. The cartoon's message was clear: only through unification and cooperation among the colonies could they hope to defeat the French and Native American forces threatening their territory and sovereignty.