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Join, or Die
American political cartoon used during American Revolution

Join, or Die. is a famous political cartoon created by Benjamin Franklin and published in The Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754 during the French and Indian War. It depicts a segmented snake cut into eight parts, each labeled with one of the American colonies or regions, symbolizing colonial disunity. Notably, New England is shown as a single segment, while Georgia is omitted. Based on a superstition about a snake’s segmented pieces rejoining to live again, the cartoon emphasized the need for colonial unity and later became a powerful emblem during the American Revolutionary War.

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History

Predecessor

Franklin was possibly inspired by an engraving of French emblem designer Nicolas Verrien which appeared in his 1685 Livre Curieux et utile pour les sçavans et artistes ("Curious and useful book for scientists and artists"). It features a snake cut in two with the legend Un serpent coupé en deux. Se rejoindre ou mourir. ("A snake cut in two. Join or die."). Verrien's snake is part of a collection of "Latin, Spanish, and Italian mottos and emblems", which suggests that the device has an earlier origin.45

Seven Years' War

Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War

The French and Indian War was a part of the Seven Years' War which pitted Great Britain alongside the Thirteen Colonies and their native allies against the French, New France and their native allies. Many American colonists wished to gain control over the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains and settle there (or make profits from speculating on new settlements). During the outbreak of the war, the American colonists were divided on whether or not to take the risk of actually fighting the French for control of the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. The poster quickly became a symbol for the need of organized action against the threat posed by the French and their native allies during the conflict, as while many Americans were unwilling to participate in combat against the French, many more recognized that if the French colonies were not captured they would always pose a risk to the well-being and security of the Thirteen Colonies. Writer Philip Davidson stated that Franklin was a propagandist influential in seeing the potential in political cartoons to stir up public opinion in favor of a certain way of thinking.6 Franklin had proposed the Albany Plan and his cartoon suggested that such a union was necessary to avoid each colony being captured individually by the French. 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. ...7

American Revolution

Further information: 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. American colonists protesting against the rule of the Crown used the cartoon in The Constitutional Courant to help persuade their fellow colonists to rise up. 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.8 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 REDUCED,9 where he warned against the danger of Britain losing her American colonies by means of the image of a female figure (Britannia) with her limbs cut off. Because of Franklin's initial cartoon, however, the Courant was thought of in England as one of the most radical publications.10

The difference between the use of Join or Die in 1754 and 1765 is that Franklin had designed it to unite the colonies for 'management of Indian relations' and defense against France, but in 1765 American colonists used it to urge colonial unity in favor of resisting laws and edicts that were imposed upon them. 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 of months later in Virginia and South Carolina. In New York and Pennsylvania, the cartoon continued to be published week after week for over a year.11 On July 7, 1774, Paul Revere altered the cartoon to fit the masthead of the Massachusetts Spy.12

Legacy

The cartoon has been reprinted and redrawn widely throughout American history. Variants of the cartoon have different texts, and differently labeled segments, depending on the political bodies being appealed to. During the American Revolutionary War, the image became a potent symbol of the unity displayed by the American colonists and resistance to Parliament and The Crown. In the 19th century, it was redrawn and used by both the Union and Confederacy during the American Civil War.13

Comedian Craig Ferguson had the cartoon tattooed on his right forearm in 2009, after becoming a United States citizen.14

President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth has the cartoon tattooed on his right forearm.15

See also

  • United States portal
  • Pennsylvania portal
  • Philadelphia portal

Further reading

References

  1. "Join, or Die". Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia. May 9, 1754. p. 2. Retrieved January 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1607106/join_or_die/ ↩

  2. Margolin, Victor (1988). "Rebellion, Reform, and Revolution: American Graphic Design for Social Change". Design Issues. 5 (1): 59–70. doi:10.2307/1511561. JSTOR 1511561. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  3. "Join or Die Snake Historical Flag". Flags Unlimited. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110726103819/http://www.usflags.com/products/Join-or-Die-Flag-Benjamin-Franklin-Flag.asp ↩

  4. Olson, Lester C. (2004). Benjamin Franklin's George Washington Vision of American Community. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press. hdl:2027/heb09323.0001.001. ISBN 978-1570035258. LCCN 2003021485. 978-1570035258 ↩

  5. Livre curieux et utile pour les sçavans et artistes. Composé de trois alphabets de chiffres simples, doubles & triples, fleuronnez et au premier trait. at the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/stream/livrecurieuxetut00veri#page/n133/mode/2up ↩

  6. Olson, Lester C. (2004). Benjamin Franklin's George Washington Vision of American Community. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press. hdl:2027/heb09323.0001.001. ISBN 978-1570035258. LCCN 2003021485. 978-1570035258 ↩

  7. "The Writings of Benjamin Franklin: Philadelphia, 1726–1757". historycarper.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060512211407/http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf2/join-die.htm ↩

  8. Stone, Daniel P. (January 10, 2018). "'Join, or Die': Political and Religious Controversy Over Franklin's Snake Cartoon". Journal of the American Revolution. Retrieved August 3, 2023. https://allthingsliberty.com/2018/01/join-die-political-religious-controversy-franklins-snake-cartoon/ ↩

  9. "Political cartoon: MAGNA Britannia: her Colonies REDUC'D". Library Company of Philadelphia. Retrieved April 29, 2007. http://bf300.com/frankliniana/result.php?id=567&sec=0&get=true ↩

  10. Olson, Lester C. (2004). Benjamin Franklin's George Washington Vision of American Community. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press. hdl:2027/heb09323.0001.001. ISBN 978-1570035258. LCCN 2003021485. 978-1570035258 ↩

  11. Olson, Lester C. (2004). Benjamin Franklin's George Washington Vision of American Community. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press. hdl:2027/heb09323.0001.001. ISBN 978-1570035258. LCCN 2003021485. 978-1570035258 ↩

  12. "A More Perfect Union: Symbolizing the National Union of States". Library of Congress. July 23, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/us.capitol/s1.html ↩

  13. "'Join, or Die' – the Political Cartoon by Benjamin Franklin". BBC. 2003. Retrieved December 13, 2006. https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1091369 ↩

  14. unknown. "Craig Ferguson's Tattoos". craigyflogs. Retrieved February 16, 2025. https://sites.google.com/site/craigyflogs/craigyfaq/craig-ferguson-s-tattoos/ ↩

  15. Haley Gunn. "Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Tattoos Decoded as Pentagon Slams Don's Selection of Fox News Host for Key Position". Radar. Retrieved November 15, 2024. https://radaronline.com/p/donald-trump-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-tattoos-decoded-pentagon-slams-nomination/ ↩