Join or Die
" ...Do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states..." These words, taken from the Declaration of Independence, exhibit a united and strong force from a people ready and willing to fight to be untied as individuals and as a country. The Declaration plainly exhibits that the people of the United States want to be and are united, which twenty years prior, was not as clear. In 1754, Benjamin Franklin illustrated the need for a group of united states in his cartoon, titled "Join or Die." This cartoon shows a nation unsure of what they want and where they are going. In 1754, the French and Indian War was threatening several of the colonies and their livelihood. The conflict between the British and the French posed a great threat to the colonies. Individually, the colonies were weak and susuptiable to attack. As this war approached, the colonists faced the decision as to come together as one united government. If they did band together, they would benefit by working with all their resources controlled by a central go
During this time, a familiar myth was that a snake that was cute-up, or separated, that was reassembled before sundown would come back to life. By using a cut-up snake to represent the colonies, Franklin presents the idea that, the colonies, each one on there own, will not thrive, but that if they join all their independent forces together as one before the impending war (the sunset), they will survive due to the fact that the power of a united group of states would be so great. Using the snake to represent the colonies is also effective in the sense that a snake is a very defensive animal, generally seen as a dangerous and threating creature, which is very defensive. This illustrates to the reader of the cartoon, that, if the colonies did unite as one, they would be a strong government, feared, and at the same time respected by other world governments. Perhaps Franklin would have agreed with what President John F. Kennedy stated in his Presidential Inaugural Address. "United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds, and split asunder." Frankl
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 785
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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