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Barbara's Collectibles Blog

By Barbara Crews, About.com Guide to Collectibles since 1997

John Adams Mini-Series, "Join or Die" Cartoon

Tuesday May 6, 2008
If you're a history buff or just an avid viewer of the John Adams mini-series, you're probably quite familiar with the image of Ben Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon published in the May 9, 1754 Pennsylvania Gazette. It's one of the first important political cartoons, with the segmented snake representing the colonies and regions in the New World.

From GEM:
"Drafted as a call for unity among the British colonies in advance of the French and Indian War, it was the first American political cartoon of lasting impact and later took on new meaning leading up to the American Revolution. It has been reprinted widely since that period and adapted for different causes, including use by both the Union and the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War."

Glimpse a piece of history and see the only known privately owned copy on display at Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore.
Source: GEM
Photo by Barb Crews

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